5VSR 


\Jl. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

Education 
GIFT  OF 

Louise  Farrow  Barr 


WHAT    KATY    DID 


AT    SCHOOL. 


BY 


SUSAN   COOLIDGE, 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  NEW  YEAR'S  BARGAIN,"  "WHAT  KATY  DID," 
AND  "MISCHIEF'S  THANKSGIVING." 


BOSTON: 
ROBERTS      BROTHERS. 

1895. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  by 

ROBERTS    BROTHERS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 

Education 

GIFT 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS  :  JOHN  WILSON  &  SON, 
CAMBRIDGE. 


CONTENTS. 


PAUB 

I.  CONIC  SECTION 1 

n.  A  NEW  YEAR  AND  A  NEW  PLAN    ....  27 

III.  ON  THE  WAY 47 

IV.  THE  NUNNERY 64 

V.  ROSES  AND  THORNS 83 

VI.  THE   S.  S.  U.  C 104 

VII.  INJUSTICE 129 

VIII.  CHANGES 148 

IX.  THE  AUTUMN  VACATION 167 

X.  A  BUDGET  OF  LETTERS 199 

XI.  CHRISTMAS  BOXES 222 

XII.  WAITING  FOR  SPRING 245 

Xin.  PARADISE  REGAINED.  260 


311 


WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CONIC      SECTION. 

|T  was  just  after  that  happy  visit  of 
which  I  told  at  the  end  of  "What 
Katy  Did,"  that  Elsie  and  John  made 
their  famous  excursion  to  Conic  Section;  an  ex- 
cursion which  neither  of  them  ever  forgot,  and 
about  which  the  family  teased  them  for  a  long 
time  afterward. 

The  summer  had  been  cool ;  but,  as  often  hap- 
pens after  cool  summers,  the  autumn  proved  unu- 
sually hot.  It  seemed  as  if  the  months  had  been 
playing  a  game,  and  had  "  changed  places "  all 
round ;  and  as  if  September  were  determined  to 
show  that  he  knew  how  to  make  himself  just  as 
disagreeable  as  August,  if  only  he  chose  to  do  so. 


2  WHAT   KATX    DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

All  the  last  half  of  Cousin  Helen's  stay,  the 
weather  was  excessively  sultry.  She  felt  it  very 
much,  though  the  children  did  all  they  could  to 
make  her  comfortable,  with  shaded  rooms,  and  icetl 
water,  and  fans.  Every  evening  the  boys  would 
wheel  her  sofa  out  on  the  porch,  in  hopes  of  cool- 
ness ;  but  it  was  of  no  use :  the  evenings  were  as 
warm  as  the  days,  and  the  yellow  dust  hanging  in 
the  air  made  the  sunshine  look  thick  and  hot.  A 
few  bright  leaves  appeared  on  the  trees,  but  they 
were  wrinkled,  and  of  an  ugly  color.  Clover  said 
she  thought  they  had  been  lolled  red  like  lobsters. 
Altogether,  the  month  was  a  trying  one,  and  the 
coming  of  October  made  little  or  no  difference :  still 
the  dust  continued,  and  the  heat;  and  the  wind, 
when  it  blew,  had  no  refreshment  in  it,  but  seemed 
to  have  passed  over  some  great  furnace  which  had 
burned  out  of  it  all  life  and  flavor. 

In  spite  of  this,  however,  it  was  wonderful  to 
see  how  Katy  gained  and  improved.  Every  day 
added  to  her  powers.  First  she  came  down  to 
dinner,  then  to  breakfast.  She  sat  on  the  porch 
in  the  afternoons ;  she  poured  the  tea.  It  was  like 
a  miracle  to  the  others,  in  the  beginning,  to  watch 


CONIC   SECTION.  8 

her  going  about  the  house ;  but  they  got  used  to  it 
surprisingly  soon,  —  one  does  to  pleasant  thi  ngs. 
One  person,  however,  never  got  used  to  it,  never 
took  it  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  and  that  was  Katy 
herself.  She  could  not  run  downstairs,  or  out  into 
the  garden  ;  she  could  not  open  the  kitchen  door 
to  give  an  order,  without  a  sense  of  gladness  and 
exultation  which  was  beyond  words.  The  wider 
and  more  active  life  stimulated  her  in  every  way. 
Her  cheeks  grew  round  and  pink,  her  eyes  bright. 
Cousin  Helen  and  papa  watched  this  change  with 
indescribable  pleasure  ;  and  Mrs.  Worrett,  who 
dropped  in  to  lunch  one  day,  fairly  screamed  with 
surprise  at  the  sight  of  it. 

"  To  think  of  it !  "  she  cried,  "  why,  the  last  time 
I  was  here  you  looked  as  if  you  had  took  root  in 
that  chair  of  yours  for  the  rest  of  your  days,  and 
here  you  are  stepping  around  as  lively  as  I  be  > 
Well,  well!  wonders  will  never  cease.  It  does 
my  eyes  good  to  see  you,  Katherine.  I  wish  your 
poor  aunt  were  here  to-day;  that  I  do.  How 
pleased  she'd  be!" 

It  is  doubtful  whether  Aunt  Izzie  would  have 
been  so  pleased,  for  the  lived-in  look  of  the  best  par* 


4  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT    SCHOOL. 

lor  would  have  horrified  her  extremely;  tut  Katy 
did  not  recollect  that  just  then.  She  was  touched 
at  the  genuine  kindness  of  Mrs.  Worrett's  voice, 
and  took  very  willingly  her  offered  kiss.  Clover 
brought  lemonade  and  grapes,  and  they  all  devoted 
themselves  to  making  the  poor  lady  comfortable. 
Just  before  she  went  away  she  said,  — 

"  How  is  it  that  I  can't  never  get  any  of  you  to 
come  out  to  Conic  Section  ?  -I'm  sure  I've  asked 
you  often  enough.  There's  Elsie,  now,  and  John , 
they're  just  the  age  to  enjoy  being  in  the  country. 
Why  won't  you  send  'em  out  for  a  week  ?  Johnnie 
can  feed  chickens,  and  chase  'em,  too,  if  she  likes," 
she  added,  as  Johnnie  dashed  just  then  into  view, 
pursuing  one  of  Phil's  bantams  round  the  house. 
44  Tell  her  so,  won't  you,  Katherine  ?  There  is  lots 
of  chickens  on  the  farm.  She  can  chase  'em  from 
morning  to  night,  if  she's  a  mind  to." 

Katy  thanked  her,  but  she  didn't  think  the 
tldldren  would  care  to  go.  She  gave  Johnnie  the 
message,  and  then  the  whole  matter  passed  out  of 
her  mind.  She  was  surprised,  a  few  days  later,  by 
having  it  brought  up  again  by  Elsie.  The  family 
were  in  low  spirits  that  morning  because  of  Cousin 


CONIC   SECTION.  0 

Helen's  having  just  gone  away ;  and  Elsie  waa 
lying  on  the  sofa,  fanning  herself  with  a  great 
palm-leaf  fan. 

"  Oh,  dear  I "  she  sighed.  "  Do  you  suppose  it's 
ever  going  to  be  cool  again  in  this  world  ?  It  does 
seem  as  if  I  couldn't  bear  it  any  longer." 

"Aren't  you  well,  darling?"  inquired  Katy, 
anxiously. 

44  Oh,  yes  I  well  enough,"  replied  Elsie.  "  It's 
only  this  horrid  heat,  and  never  going  away  to 
where  it's  cooler.  I  keep  thinking  about  the 
country,  and  wishing  I  were  there  feeling  the  wind 
blow.  I  wonder  if  papa  wouldn't  let  John  and 
me  go  to  Conic  Section,  and  see  Mrs.  Worrett.  Do 
you  think  he  would,  if  you  asked  him  ?  " 

"  But,"  said  Katy,  amazed,  "  Conic  Section  isn't 
exactly  country,  you  know.  It  is  just  out  of  the 
city,  —  only  six  miles  from  here.  And  Mrs.  Wor- 
rett's  house  is  close  to  the  road,  papa  said.  Do 
you  think  you'd  like  it,  dear?  It  can't  be  rery 
much  cooler  than  this." 

44  Oh,  yes  I  it  can,"  rejoined  Elsie,  in  a  tone 
which  was  a  little  fretful.  44It's  quite  near 
woods ;  Mrs.  Worrett  told  me  so.  Besides,  it's 


6  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

always  cooler  on  a  farm.  There's  more  room  foi 
the  wind,  and  —  oh,  every  thing's  pleasanterl 
You  can't  think  how  tired  I  am  of  this  hot  house. 
Last  night  I  hardly  slept  at  all ;  and,  when  I  did, 
I  dreamed  that  I  was  a  loaf  of  brown  bread,  and 
Debby  was  putting  me  into  the  oven  to  bake.  It 
was  a  horrid  dream.  I  was  so  glad  to  wake  up. 
Won't  you  ask  papa  if  we  may  go,  Katy  ?  " 

"  Why,  of  course  I  will,  if  you  wish  it  so  much. 
Only" —  Katy  stopped  and  did  not  finish  her 
sentence.  A  vision  of  fat  Mrs.  Worrett  had 
risen  before  her,  and  she  could  not  help  doubting 
if  Elsie  would  find  the  farm  as  pleasant  as  she 
expected.  But  sometimes  the  truest  kindness  is 
in  giving  people  their  own  unwise  way,  and  Elsie's 
eyes  looked  so  wistful  that  Katy  had  no  heart  to 
argue  or  refuse. 

Dr.  Carr  looked  doubtful  when  the  plan  was 
proposed  to  him. 

"  It's  too  hot,"  he  said.  "  I  don't  believe  (he 
girls  will  like  it." 

"  Oh,  yes  I  we  will,  papa  ;  indeed  we  will," 
pleaded  Elsie  and  John,  who  had  lingered  Deair 
the  door  to  learn  the  fate  of  their  request. 


CONIC   SECTION.  7 

Dr.  Carr  smiled  at  the  imploring  faces,  but  he 
looked  a  little  quizzical.  "  Very  well,"  he  said, 
"  you  may  go.  Mr.  Worrett  is  coming  into  town 
to-morrow,  on  some  bank  business.  I'll  send  word 
by  him  ;  and  in  the  afternoon,  when  it  is  cooler, 
Alexander  can  drive  you  out." 

"  Goody !  Goody  I  "  cried  John,  jumping  up  and 
down,  while  Elsie  put  her  arms  round  papa's  neck 
and  gave  him  a  hug. 

"And  Thursday  I'll  send  for  you,"  he  con- 
tinued. 

"  But,  papa,"  expostulated  Elsie,  "  that's  only 
two  days.  Mrs.  Worrett  said  a  week." 

"  Yes,  she  said  a  week,"  chimed  in  John  ;  "  and 
she's  got  ever  so  many  chickens,  and  I'm  to  feed 
'em,  and  chase  'em  about  as  much  as  I  like.  Only 
it's  too  hot  to  run  much,"  she  added  reflect- 
ively. 

"  You  won't  really  send  for  us  on  Thursday,  will 
you,  papa  ?  "  urged  Elsie,  anxiously.  "  I'd  like  to 
stay  ever  and  ever  so  long  ;  but  Mrs.  Worrett  said 
a  week." 

"  I  shall  send  on  Thursday,"  repeated  Dr.  Cair, 
in  a  decided  tone.  Then,  seeing  that  Elsie's  lip 


WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL,. 

was  trembling,  and  her  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  he 
continued  :  "  Don't  look  so  woful,  Pussy.  Alex- 
ander shall  drive  out  for  you ;  but  if  you  want  to 
stay  longer,  you  may  send  him  back  with  a  note  to 
say  what  day  you  would  like  to  have  him  come 
again.  Will  that  do  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  I  "  said  Elsie,  wiping  her  eyes ;  *'  that 
will  do  beautifully,  papa.  Only,  it  seems  such 
a  pity  that  Alexander  should  have  to  go  twice 
when  it's  so  hot ;  for  we're  perfectly  sure  to  want 
to  stay  a  week." 

Papa  only  laughed,  as  he  kissed  her.  All  being 
settled,  the  children  began  to  get  ready.  It  was 
quite  an  excitement  packing  the  bags,  and  deciding 
what  to  take  and  what  not  to  take.  Elsie  grew 
bright  and  gay  with  the  bustle.  Just  to  think  of 
being  in  the  country,  —  the  cool  green  country,  — 
made  her  perfectly  happy,  she  declared.  The 
truth  was,  she  was  a  little  feverish  and  not  quite 
well,  and  didn't  know  exactly  how  she  felt  or  what 
she  wanted. 

The  drive  out  was  pleasant,  except  that  Alex- 
ander upset  John's  gravity,  and  hurt  Elsie's  dignity 
very  much,  by  inquiring,  as  they  left  the  gate, 


CONIC   SECTION.  9 

Do  the  little  misses  know  where  it  is  that  they 
want  to  go?"  Part  of  the  way  the  road  ran 
through  woods.  They  were  rather  boggy  woods ; 
but  the  dense  shade  kept  off  the  sun,  and  there 
A^as  a  spicy  smell  of  evergreens  and  sweet  pern. 
Elsie  felt  that  the  good  time  had  fairly  begun,  and 
her  spirits  rose  with  every  turn  of  the  wheels. 

By  and  by  they  left  the  woods,  and  came  out 
again  into  the  sunshine.  The  road  was  dusty,  and 
so  were  the  fields,  and  the  ragged  sheaves  of 
corn-stalks,  which  dotted  them  here  and  there, 
looked  dusty  too.  Piles  of  dusty  red  apples  lay 
on  the  grass,  under  the  orchard  trees.  Some  cows 
going  down  a  lane  toward  their  milking  shed, 
mooed  in  a  dispirited  and  thirsty  way,  which 
made  the  children  feel  thirsty  also. 

"  I  want  a  drink  of  water  awfully,"  said  John. 
"Do  you  suppose  it's  much  farther?  How  long 
will  it  be  before  we  get  to  Mrs.  Worrett's,  Alex- 
ander?" 

"  'Most  there,  miss,"  replied  Alexander,  lacon- 
ically. 

Elsie  put  her  head  out  of  the  carriage,  and 

looked  eagerly  round.     Where  was  the  delight/ 
1* 


10  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

ful  farm  ?  She  saw  a  big,  pumpkin-colored  house 
by  the  roadside,  a  little  farther  on ;  but  surely  that 
couldn't  be  it.  Yes:  Alexander  drew  up  at  the 
gate,  and  jumped  down  to  lift  them  out.  It  reallj 
was  I  The  surprise  quite  took  away  her  breath. 

She  looked  about.  There  were  the  woods,  to  he 
sure,  but  half  a  mile  away  across  the  fields.  Near 
the  house,  there  were  no  trees  at  all ;  only  some 
lilac  bushes  at  one  side  ;  there  was  no  green  grass 
either.  A  gravel  path  took  up  the  whole  of  the 
narrow  front  yard ;  and,  what  with  the  blazing  color 
of  the  paint  and  the  wide-awake  look  of  the  blind- 
less  windows,  the  house  had  somehow  the  air  of 
standing  on  tiptoe  and  staring  hard  at  something,  — 
the  dust  in  the  road,  perhaps ;  for  there  seemed 
nothing  else  to  stare  at. 

Elsie's  heart  sank  indescribably,  as  she  and  John 
got  very  slowly  out  of  the  carryall,  and  Alexan- 
der, putting  his  arm  over  the  fence,  rapped  loudly 
at  the  front  door.  It  was  some  minutes  before  the 
rap  was  answered.  Then  a  heavy  step  was  heard 
creaking  through  the  hall,  and  somebody  began 
fumbling  at  an  obstinate  bolt,  which  would  not 
move.  Next,  a  voice  which  they  recognized  as 


CONIC   SECTION.  11 

Mrs.  Worrett's  called:  "Isaphiny!  Isaphiny « 
come  and  see  if  you  can  open  this  door." 

"  How  funny  1 "  whispered  Johnnie,  beginning 
to  giggle. 

"  Isaphiny  "  seemed  to  be  upstairs ;  for  presently 
they  heard  her  running  down,  after  which  a  fresh 
rattle  began  at  the  obstinate  bolt.  But  still  the 
door  did  not  open,  and  at  length  Mrs.  Worrett  put 
her  lips  to  the  keyhole,  and  asked,  — 

"Who  is  it?" 

The  voice  sounded  so  hollow  and  ghostly,  that 
31sie  jumped,  as  she  answered :  "  It's  I,  Mrs.  Wor- 
cett,  —  Elsie  Carr.  And  Johnnie's  here  too." 

"  Ts,  ts,  ts ! "  sounded  from  within,  and  then 
came  a  whispering ;  after  which  Mrs.  Worrett  put 
her  mouth  again  to  the  keyhole,  and  called  out: 
"  Go  round  to  the  back,  children.  I  can't  make 
this  door  open  anyway.  It's  all  swelled  up  with 
the  damp." 

"  Damp ! "  whispered  Johnnie ;  "  why,  it  hasn'i 
rained  since  the  third  week  in  August ;  papa  said 
so  yesterday." 

"That's  nothing,  Miss  Johnnie,"  put  in  Alex- 
ander, overhearing  her.  "  Folks  here- a  way  don't 


12  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT  SCHOOL. 

open  their  front  doors  much,  —  only  for  weddings 
and  funerals  and  such  like.  Very  likely  this  has 
stood  shut  these  five  years.  I  know  the  last 
time  I  drove  Miss  Carr  out,  before  she  died,  it  was 
just  so ;  and  she  had  to  go  round  to  the  back,  as 
you're  a-doing  now." 

John's  eyes  grew  wide  with  wonder ;  but  there 
was  no  time  to  say  any  thing,  for  they  had  turned 
the  corner  of  the  house,  and  there  was  Mrs.  Wor- 
rett  waiting  at  the  kitchen  door  to  receive  them. 
She  looked  fatter  than  ever,  Elsie  thought;  but 
she  kissed  them  both,  and  said  she  was  real  glad  to 
see  a  Carr  in  her  house  at  last. 

"  It  was  too  bad,"  she  went  on,  "  to  keep  you 
waiting  so.  But  the  fact  is  I  got  asleep ;  and  when 
you  knocked,  I  waked  up  all  in  a  daze,  and  for  a 
minute  it  didn't  come  to  me  who  it  must  be. 
Take  the  bags  right  upstairs,  Isaphiny ;  and  put 
them  in  the  keeping-room  chamber.  How's  your 
pa,  Elsie,  —  and  Katy  ?  Not  laid  up  again,  I  hope." 

"  Oh,  no ;  she  seems  to  get  better  all  the  time." 

"  That's  right,"  responded  Mrs.  Worrett,  heart- 
ily. "  I  didn't  know  but  what,  with  hot  weather, 
and  company  in  the  house,  and  all,  —  there's  a 


CONIC   SECTION.  13 

chicken,  Johnnie,"  she  exclaimed,  suddenly  inter- 
rupting herself,  as  a  long-legged  hen  ran  past  the 
door.  "  Want  to  chase  it  right  away  ?  You  can,  if 
you  like.  Or  would  you  rather  go  upstairs  first  ?  " 

"  Upstairs,  please/'  replied  John,  while  Elsie 
went  to  the  door,  and  watched  Alexander  driving 
away  down  the  dusty  road.  She  felt  as  if  their  last 
friend  had  deserted  them.  Then  she  and  Johnnie 
followed  Isaphiny  upstairs.  Mrs.  Worrett  never 
"mounted"  in  hot  weather,  she  told  them. 

The  spare  chamber  was  just  under  the  roof.  It 
was  very  hot,  and  smelt  as  if  the  windows  had 
never  been  opened  since  the  house  was  built.  As 
soon  as  they  were  alone,  Elsie  ran  across  the  room^ 
and  threw  up  the  sash ;  but  the  moment  she  let  go, 
down  it  fell  again  with  a  crash  which  shook  the 
floor  and  made  the  pitcher  dance  and  rattle  in  the 
wash-bowl.  The  children  were  dreadfully  fright- 
ened, especially  when  they  heard  Mrs.  Worrett  at 
Ihe  foot  of  the  stairs  calling  to  ask  what  was  the 
matter. 

•4  It's  only  the  window,"  explained  Elsie,  going 
into  the  hall.  "  I'm  BO  sorry ;  but  it  won't  stay 
open.  Something's  the  matter  with  it." 


J4  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

44  Did  you  stick  the  nail  in  ? "  inquired  Mrs, 
Worrett. 

"The  nail?     No,  ma'am." 

44  Why,  how  on  earth  did  you  expect  it  to  stay 
up  then  ?  You  young  folks  never  see  what's  before 
your  eyes.  Look  on  tLd  window-sill,  and  you'll 
find  it.  It's  put  there  a  purpose." 

Elsie  returned,  much  discomfited.  She  looked, 
and,  sure  enough,  there  was  a  big  nail,  and  there 
was  a  hole  in  the  side  of  the  window-frame  in 
which  to  stick  it.  This  time  she  got  the  win- 
dow open  without  accident;  but  a  long  blue 
paper  shade  caused  her  much  embarrassment. 
It  hung  down,  and  kept  the  air  from  coming  in. 
She  saw  no  way  of  fastening  it. 

44  Roll  it  up,  and  put  in  a  pin,"  suggested  Johb 

44  I'm  afraid  of  tearing  the  paper.  Dear,  what  a 
horrid  thing  it  is ! "  replied  Elsie,  in  a  disgusted 
tone. 

However,  she  stuck  in  a  couple  of  pins  and 
fastened  the  shade  out  of  the  way.  After  that, 
they  looked  about  the  room.  It  was  plainly  fur- 
nished, but  very  nice  and  neat.  The  bureau  was 
covered  with  a  white  towel,  on  which  stood  a  pin- 


CONIC   SECTION.  15 

cushion,  with  "  Remember  Ruth  "  stuck  upon  it  in 
pins  John  admired  this  very  much,  and  felt  that 
she  could  never  make  up  her  mind  to  spoil  the 
pattern  by  taking  out  a  pin,  however  great  her 
need  of  one  might  be. 

"  What  a  high  bed !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Elsie, 
you'll  have  to  climb  on  a  chair  to  get  into  it ;  and 
so  shall  I." 

Elsie  felt  of  it.  "  Feathers ! "  she  cried  in  a 
tone  of  horror.  "  O  John !  why  did  we  come  ? 
What  shaU  we  do?" 

"  I  guess  we  shan't  mind  it  much,"  replied  John, 
who  was  perfectly  well,  and  considered  these  little 
variations  on  home  habits  rather  as  fun  than  other- 
wise. But  Elsie  gave  a  groan.  Two  nights  on  a 
feather-bed  !  How  should  she  bear  it  I 

Tea  was  ready  in  the  kitchen  when  they  went 
downstairs,  A  small  fire  had  been  lighted  to  boil 
the  water.  It  was  almost  out,  but  the  room  felt 
stiflingly  warm,  and  the  butter  was  so  nearly  melted 
that  Mrs.  Worrett  had  to  help  it  with  a  tea-spoon. 
Buzzing  flies  hovered  above  the  table,  and  gathered 
thick  on  the  plate  of  cake.  The  bread  was  excel- 
lent, and  so  were  the  cottage  cheeses  and  tha 


16  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

stew  ed  quince  ;  but  Elsie  could  eat  nothing.  She 
was  in  a  fever  of  heat.  Mrs.  Worrett  was  dis- 
tressed at  this  want  of  appetite ;  and  so  was  Mr. 
Worrett,  to  whom  the  children  had  just  been  in- 
troduced. He  was  a  kindly-looking  old  man,  with 
a  bald  head,  who  came  to  supper  in  his  shirt- 
gleeves,  and  was  as  thin  as  his  wife  was  fat. 

"  I'm  afraid  the  little  girl  don't  like  her  supper, 
Lucinda,"  he  said.  u  You  must  see  about  getting 
ber  something  different  to-morrow." 

"  Oh  1  it  isn't  that.  Every  thing  is  very  nice  , 
only,  I'm  not  hungry,"  pleaded  Elsie,  feeling  as  if 
she  should  like  to  cry.  She  did  cry  a  little  after 
tea,  as  they  sat  in  the  dusk ;  Mr.  Worrett  smoking 
his  pipe  and  slapping  mosquitoes  outside  the  door, 
and  Mrs.  Worrett  sleeping  rather  noisily  in  a  big 
rocking-chair.  But  not  even  Johnnie  found  out 
that  she  was  crying ;  for  Elsie  felt  that  she  was  the 
naughtiest  child  in  the  world  to  behave  so  badly 
when  everybody  was  so  kind  to  her.  She  repeated 
this  to  herself  many  times,  but  it  didn't  do  much 
good.  As  often  as  the  thought  of  home  and  Katy 
and  papa  came,  a  wild  longing  to  get  back  to  them 
would  rush  over  her,  and  her  eyes  would  fill  again 
with  sudden  tears. 


CONIC   SECTION.  17 

The  night  was  very  uncomfortable.  Not  a 
breath  of  wind  was  stirring,  or  none  found  its  way 
to  the  stifling  bed  where  the  little  sisters  lay. 
John  slept  pretty  well,  in  spite  of  heat  and  mos- 
quitoes, but  Elsie  hardly  closed  her  eyes.  Once  she 
got  up  and  went  to  the  window,  but  the  blue  paper 
shade  had  become  unfastened,  and  rattled  down 
upon  her  head  with  a  sudden  bump,  which  startled 
her  very  much.  She  could  find  no  pins  in  the  dark, 
so  she  left  it  hanging;  whereupon  it  rustled  and 
flapped  through  the  rest  of  the  night,  and  did  its 
share  toward  keeping  her  awake.  About  three 
o'clock  she  fell  into  a  doze  ;  and  it  seemed  only  a 
minute  after  that  before  she  waked  up  to  find 
bright  sunshine  in  the  room,  and  half  a  dozen 
roosters  crowing  and  calling  under  the  windows. 
Her  head  ached  violently.  She  longed  to  stay  in 
bed,  but  was  afraid  it  would  be  thought  impolite  : 
KO  she  dressed  and  went  down  with  Johnnie ;  but 
dlie  looked  so  pale  and  ate  so  little  breakfast  tha* 
Mrs.  Worrett  was  quite  troubled,  and  said  she 
had  better  not  try  to  go  out,  but  just  lie  on  the 
lounge  in  the  best  room,  and  amuse  herself  with  a 
book. 


18  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

The  lounge  in  the  best  room  was  covered  with 
slippery,  purple  chintz.  It  was  a  high  lounge 
and  very  narrow.  There  was  nothing  at  the  end 
to  hold  the  pillow  in  its  place ;  so  the  pillow 
constantly  tumbled  off  and  jerked  Elsie's  head 
suddenly  backward,  which  was  not  at  all  comfort- 
able. Worse,  —  Elsie  having  dropped  into  a  doze, 
she  herself  tumbled  to  the  floor,  rolling  from  the 
glassy,  smooth  chintz  as  if  it  had  been  a  slope  of 
ice.  This  adventure  made  her  so  nervous  that  she 
dared  not  go  to  sleep  again,  though  Johnnie  fetched 
two  chairs,  and  placed  them  beside  the  sofa  to  hold 
her  on.  So  she  followed  Mrs.  Worrett's  advice, 
and  "  amused  herself  with  a  book."  There  were 
not  many  books  hi  the  best  room.  The  one  Elsie 
chose  was  a  fat  black  volume  called  "  The  Com- 
plete Works  of  Mrs.  Hannah  More."  Part  of  it 
was  prose,  and  part  was  poetry.  Elsie  began  with 
a  chapter  called  "  Hints  on  the  Formation  of  the 
Character  of  a  Youthful  Princess."  But  there 
were  a  great  many  long  words  in  it ;  so  she  turned 
to  a  story  named  "  Coelebs  in  Search  of  a  Wife." 
It  was  about  a  young  gentleman  who  wanted  to 
get  married,  but  who  didn't  feel  sure  that  there 


CONIC   SECTION.  39 

were  any  young  ladies  nice  enough  for  him ;  so  he 
went  about  making  visits,  first  to  one  and  then  to 
another ;  and,  when  he  had  stayed  a  few  days  at  a 
house,  he  would  always  say,  "  No,  she  won't  do,  " 
and  then  he  would  go  away.  At  last,  he  found  a 
young  lady  who  seemed  the  very  person,  who 
visited  the  poor,  and  got  up  early  in  the  morning, 
and  always  wore  white,  and  never  forgot  to  wind 
up  her  watch  or  do  her  duty;  and  Elsie  almost 
thought  that  now  the  difficult  young  gentleman 
must  be  satisfied,  and  say,  "  This  is  the  very  thing." 
When,  lo !  her  attention  wandered  a  little,  and  the 
next  thing  she  knew  she  was  rolling  off  the  lounge 
for  the  second  time,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Hannah 
More.  They  landed  in  the  chairs,  and  Johnnie 
ran  and  picked  them  both  up.  Altogether,  lying 
on  the  best  parlor  sofa  was  not  very  restful ;  and  as 
the  day  went  on,  and  the  sun  beating  on  the 
blindless  windows  made  the  room  hotter,  Elsie 
grew  continually  more  and  more  feverish  and  home- 
sick and  disconsolate. 

Meanwhile  Johnnie  was  kept  in  occupation  by 
Mrs.  Worrett,  who  had  got  the  idea  firmly  fixed  in 
her  mind,  that  the  chief  joy  of  a  child's  life  was  to 


20  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

chase  chickens.  Whenever  a  hen  fluttered  past 
the  kitchen  door,  which  was  about  once  in  three 
minutes,  she  would  cry :  "  Here,  Johnnie,  here's 
another  chicken  for  you  to  chase;"  and  poor 
Johnnie  would  feel  obliged  to  dash  out  into  the 
aun.  Being  a  very  polite  little  girl,  she  did  not  like 
to  say  to  Mrs  Worrett  that  running  hi  the  heat 
was  disagreeable :  so  by  dinner-time  she  was 
thoroughly  tired  out,  and  would  have  been  cross  if 
she  had  known  how ;  but  she  didn't  —  Johnnie  waa 
never  cross.  After  dinner  it  was  even  worse  ;  foi 
the  sun  was  hotter,  and  the  chickens,  who  didn't 
mind  sun,  seemed  to  be  walking  all  the  time. 
"  Hurry,  Johnnie,  here's  another,"  came  so  con- 
stantly, that  at  last  Elsie  grew  desperate,  got  up, 
and  went  to  the  kitchen  with  a  languid  appeal: 
44  Please,  Mrs.  Worrett,  won't  you  let  Johnnie  stay 
by  me,  because  my  head  aches  so  hard  ?  "  Aftei 
that,  Johnnie  had  rest ;  for  Mrs.  Worrett  was  the 
kindest  of  women,  and  had  no  idea  that  she  was 
not  amusing  her  little  guest  in  the  most  delightful 
manner. 

A  little  before  six,  Elsie's  head  felt  better ;  and 
and  Johnnie  put  on  their  hats,  and  went  fv/r  a 


CONIC   SECTIOK.  21 

walk  in  the  garden.  There  was  not  much  to  see : 
beds  of  vegetables,  —  a  few  currant  bushes,— 
that  was  all.  Elsie  was  leaning  against  a  paling, 
and  trying  to  make  out  why  the  Worrett  house 
had  that  queer  tiptoe  expression,  when  a  sudden 
loud  grunt  startled  her,  and  something  touched 
the  top  of  her  head.  She  turned,  and  there  was 
an  enormous  pig,  standing  on  his  hind  legs,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  paling.  He  was  taller  than  Elsie, 
as  he  stood  thus,  and  it  was  his  cold  nose  which 
had  touched  her  head.  Somehow,  appearing  in  this 
unexpected  way,  he  seemed  to  the  children  like 
some  dreadful  wild  beast.  They  screamed  with 
fright,  and  fled  to  the  house,  from  which  Elsie 
never  ventured  to  stir  again  during  their  visit. 
John  chased  chickens  at  intervals,  but  it  was  a 
doubtful  pleasure ;  and  all  the  time  she  kept  a  wary 
eye  on  the  distant  pig. 

That  evening,  while  Mrs.  Worrett  slept  and  Mr. 
Worrett  smoked  outside  the  door,  Elsie  felt  so 
very  miserable  that  she  broke  down  altogether. 
She  put  her  head  in  Johnnie's  lap,  as  they  sat 
together  in  the  darkest  corner  of  the  room,  and 
sobbed  and  cried,  making  as  little  noise  as  she  pos* 


22  WHAT   KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

eibty  could.  Johnnie  comforted  her  with  soft  pata 
and  strokings  ;  but  did  not  dare  to  say  a  word,  for 
fear  Mrs.  Worrett  should  wake  up  and  find  them 
out. 

When  the  morning  came,  Elsie's  one  thought  was, 
Would  Alexander  come  for  them  in  the  afternoon  ? 
All  day  she  watched  the  clock  and  the  road  with 
feverish  anxiety.  Oh !  if  papa  had  changed  his 
mind,  —  had  decided  to  let  them  stay  for  a  week 
at  Conic  Section,  —  what  should  she  do  ?  It  was 
just  possible  to  worry  through  and  keep  alive  till 
afternoon,  she  thought ;  but  if  they  were  forced 
to  spend  another  night  in  that  feather-bed,  with 
those  mosquitoes,  hearing  the  blue  shade  rattle 
and  quiver  hour  after  hour,  —  she  should  die,  she 
was  sure  she  should  die  I 

But  Elsie  was  not  called  upon  to  die,  or  even  to 
discover  how  easy  it  is  to  survive  a  little  discom- 
fort. About  five,  her  anxious  watch  was  rewarded 
1>3'  the  appearance  of  a  cloud  of  dust,  out  of  which 
presently  emerged  old  Whitey's  ears  and  the  top 
of  the  well-known  carryall.  They  stopped  at  the 
gate.  There  was  Alexander,  brisk  and  smiling, 
very  glad  to  see  his  "  little  misses"  again,  and  to 


CONIC   SECTION.  23 

find  them  so  glad  to  go  home.  Mrs.  Worrett,  how- 
ever, did  not  discover  that  they  were  glad ;  no 
indeed!  Elsie  and  John  were  much  too  polite 
for  that.  They  thanked  the  old  lady,  and  said 
good-by  so  prettily  that,  after  they  were  gone,  she 
told  Mr.  Worrett  that  it  hadn't  been  a  bit  of 
trouble  having  them  there,  and  she  hoped  they 
would  come  again  ;  they  enjoyed  every  thing  so 
much ;  only  it  was  a  pity  that  Elsie  looked  so 
peaked.  And  at  that  very  moment  Elsie  was  sit- 
ting on  the  floor  of  the  carryall,  with  her  head  in 
John's  lap,  crying  and  sobbing  for  joy  that  the  visit 
was  over,  and  that  she  was  on  the  way  home.  If 
only  I  live  to  get  there,"  she  said,  "  I'll  never,  no, 
nev^r,  go  into  the  country  again !  "  which  was  silly 
anough  ;  but  we  must  forgive  her  because  she  was 
half  sick. 

Ah,  how  charming  home  did  look,  with  the  fam- 
ily grouped  in  the  shady  porch,  Katy  in  her  white 
wrapper,  Clover  with  rose-buds  in  her  belt,  and 
everybody  ready  to  welcome  and  pet  the  little 
absentees!  There  was  much  hugging  and  kiss- 
ing, and  much  to  tell  of  what  had  happened  in 
the  two  days :  how  a  letter  had  come  from  Cousin 


24  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

Helen ;  how  Daisy  White  had  four  kittens  as  white 
us  herself;  how  Dorry  had  finished  his  water- wheel, 
—  a  wheel  which  turned  in  the  bath-tub,  and 
was  "really  ingenious,"  papa  said;  and  Phil  had 
"swapped"  one  of  his  bantam  chicks  for  one  of 
Eugene  Slack's  Bramapootras.  It  was  not  till  they 
were  all  seated  round  the  tea-table  that  anybody 
demanded  an  account  of  the  visit.  Elsie  felt  this 
a  relief,  and  was  just  thinking  how  delicious  every 
thing  was,  from  the  sliced  peaches  to  the  clinking 
ice  in  the  milk-pitcher,  when  papa  put  the  dreaded 
question,  — 

"  Well,  Elsie,  so  you  decided  to  come,  after  all. 
How  was  it?  Why  didn't  you  stay  your  week 
out?  You  look  pale,  it  seems  to  me.  Have  you 
been  enjoying  yourself  too  much?  Tell  us  all 
about  it." 

Elsie  looked  at  papa,  and  papa  looked  at  Elsie. 
Dr.  Carr's  eyes  twinkled  just  a  little,  but  other- 
whe  he  was  perfectly  grave.  Elsie  began  to 
apeak,  then  to  laugh,  then  to  cry,  and  the  expla- 
nation, when  it  came,  was  given  in  a  mingled  burst 
of  all  three. 

"  O  papa,  it  was  horrid  I     That  is,  Mrs.  Wor- 


CONIC   SECTION.  25 

rett  was  just  as  kind  as  could  be,  but  so  fat ;  and 
oh,  such  a  pig !  I  never  imagined  such  a  pig.  And 
the  calico  on  that  horrid  sofa  was  so  slippery  that 
I  rolled  off  five  times,  and  once  I  hurt  myself  real 
badly.  And  we  had  a  feather-bed ;  and  I  was  so 
homesick  that  I  cried  all  the  evening." 

44  That  must  have  been  gratifying  to  Mrs.  Wor- 
rett,"  put  in  Dr.  Carr. 

44  Oh !  she  didn't  know  it,  papa.  She  was  asleep, 
and  snoring  so  that  nobody  could  hear.  And  the 
flies !  —  such  flies,  Katy  I  —  and  the  mosquitoes,  and 
our  window  wouldn't  open  till  I  put  in  a  nail.  I  am 
so  glad  to  get  home  !  I  never  want  to  go  into  the 
country  again,  never,  never!  Oh,  if  Alexander 
hadn't  come  !  —  why,  Clover,  what  are  you  laugh- 
ing for  ?  And  Dorry,  —  I  think  it's  very  unkind," 
and  Elsie  ran  to  Katy,  hid  her  face,  and  began  to 
cry. 

"Never  mind,  darling,  they  didn't  mean  to  be 
unkind.  Papa,  her  hands  are  quite  hot;  you 
must  give  her  something."  Katy's  voice  shook  a 
little  ;  but  she  would  not  hurt  Elsie's  feelings  by 
showing  that  she  was  amused.  Papa  gave  Elsie 
"something"  before  she  went  to  bed, — a  veity 
2 


26  TTHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

mild  dos*.  I  fancy ;  for  doctors'  little  girls,  as  a  gen- 
eral rul%  -do  not  take  medicine,  and  next  day  she 
was  much  better.  As  the  adventures  of  the  Conic 
Section  visit  leaked  out  bit  by  bit,  the  family 
laughed  till  it  seemed  as  if  they  would  never  stop. 
Phil  was  forever  enacting  the  pig,  standing  on  his 
triumphant  hind  legs,  and  patting  Elsie's  head  with 
his  nose  ;  and  many  and  many  a  time,  "  It  will  end 
like  your  visit  to  Mrs.  Worrett,"  proved  a  useful 
check  when  Elsie  was  in  a  self-willed  mood  and 
bent  on  some  scheme  which  for  the  moment  struck 
her  as  delightful.  For  one  of  the  good  things 
about  our  childish  mistakes  is,  that  each  one 
teaches  us  something;  and  so,  blundering  on,  we 
grow  wiser,  till,  when  the  time  comes,  we  are 
ready  to  take  our  places  among  the  wonderful 
grown-up  people  who  never  make  mistakes 


A  NEW   YEAB    AND   A   NEW   PJ^iN.  27 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  NEW   YEAB  AND  A  NEW  PLAN. 

|HEN  summer  lingers  on  into  October 
it  often  seems  as  if  winter,  anxious  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  her,  hurries  a  little ; 
and  so  people  are  cheated  out  of  their  autumn. 
It  was  so  that  year.  Almost  as  soon  as  it 
ceased  to  be  hot  it  began  to  be  cold.  The  leaves, 
instead  of  drifting  away  in  soft,  dying  colors,  like 
sunset  clouds,  turned  yellow  all  at  once  ;  and  were 
whirled  off  the  trees  in  a  single  gusty  night,  leav- 
ing every  thing  bare  and  desolate.  Thanksgiving 
came;  and  before  the  smell  of  the  turkey  was 
fairly  out  of  the  house,  it  was  time  to  hang  up 
stockings  and  dress  the  Christmas  tree.  They 
had  a  tree  that  year  in  honor  of  Katy's  being  down- 
stairs. Cecy,  who  had  gone  away  to  boarding- 
school,  came  home  ;  and  it  was  all  delightful,  ex 


28  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOO1*. 

cept  that  the  days  flew  too  fast.  Clover  said  it 
seemed  to  her  very  queer  that  there  was  so  much 
le»s  time  than  usual  in  the  world.  She  couldn't 
imagine  what  had  become  of  it :  there  used  to  be 
plenty.  And  she  was  certain  that  Dorry  must 
have  been  tinkering  all  the  clocks,  —  they  struck 
so  often. 

It  was  just  after  New  Year  that  Dr.  Carr  walked 
in  one  day  with  a  letter  in  his  hand,  and  remarked : 
"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Page  are  coming  to  stay  with  us." 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Page/'  repeated  Katy ;  "  who  are 
they,  papa  ?  Did  I  ever  see  them." 

"  Once,  when  you  were  four  years  old,  and  Elsie 
a  baby.  Of  course  you  don't  remember  it." 

44  But  who  are  they,  papa  ?  " 

"Mrs.  Page  was  your  dear  mother's  second 
cousin ;  and  at  one  time  she  lived  in  your  grand 
father's  family,  and  was  like  a  sister  to  mamma 
and  Uncle  Charles.  It  is  a  good  many  years  since 
I  have  seen  her.  Mr.  Page  is  a  railroad  engineer. 
He  is  coming  this  way  on  business,  and  they  will 
stop  for  a  few  days  with  us.  Your  Cousin  Olivia 
writes  that  she  is  anxious  to  see  all  you  children. 
I  lav  3  every  thing  as  nice  as  you  can,  Katy." 


A   NEW   YEAR   AND   A    NEW   PLAE.  2tt 

4i  Ol  course,  I  will.  What  day  are  they  com- 
ing?' 

"Thursday,  —  no,  Friday,"  replied  Dr.  Carr, 
cousulting  the  letter,  "  Friday  evening,  at  half- 
past  six.  Order  something  substantial  for  tea  that 
Eight,  Katy.  They'll  be  hungry  after  travelling." 

Katy  worked  with  a  will  for  the  next  two  days. 
Twenty  times,  at  least,  she  went  into  the  blue 
room  to  make  sure  that  nothing  was  forgotten ; 
repeating,  as  if  it  had  been  a  lesson  in  geography . 
44  Bath  towels,  face  towels,  matches,  soap,  candles, 
cologne,  extra  blanket,  ink."  A  nice  little  fire  was 
lighted  in  the  bedroom  on  Friday  afternoon,  and 
a  big,  beautiful  one  in  the  parlor,  which  looked 
very  pleasant  with  the  lamp  lit  and  Clover's  gera- 
niums and  china  roses  in  the  window.  The 
tea-table  was  set  with  the  best  linen  and  the  pink- 
and- white  china.  Debby's  muffins  were  very  light. 
The  crab-apple  jelly  came  out  of  its  mould  clear 
and  whole,  and  the  cold  chicken  looked  appe- 
tizing, with  its  green  wreath  of  parsley.  There 
was  stewed  potato,  too,  and,  of  course,  oysters. 
Everybody  in  Burnet  had  oysters  for  tea  when 
company  was  expected.  They  were  counted  a 


30  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

Bpecial  treat ;  because  they  were  rather  dear,  and 
could  not  always  be  procured.  Burnet  was  a 
thousand  miles  from  the  sea,  so  the  oysters  were  of 
tho  tin-can  variety.  The  cans  gave  the  oysters 
a  curious  taste,  —  tinny,  or  was  it  more  like  sol- 
der? At  all  events,  Burnet  people  liked  it,  and 
always  insisted  that  it  was  a  striking  improvement 
on  the  flavor  which  oysters  have  on  their  native 
shores.  Every  thing  was  M  irice  as  could  be,  when 
Katy  stood  in  the  dining-room  to  take  a  last  look 
at  her  arrangements  ;  and  she  hoped  papa  would  be 
pleased,  and  that  mamma's  cousin  would  think  her 
a  good  housekeeper. 

"  I  don't  want  to  have  on  my  other  jacket,*' 
observed  Phil,  putting  his  head  in  at  the  door. 
"  Need  I  ?  This  is  nice." 

"  Let  me  see,"  said  Katy,  gently  turning  him 
round.  "  Well,  it  does  pretty  well ;  but  I  think  I'd 
rather  you  should  put  on  the  other,  if  you  don't 
mind  much.  We  want  every  thing  as  nice  as  pos- 
sible, you  know  ;  because  this  is  papa's  company, 
and  he  hardly  ever  has  any." 

"  Just  one  little  sticky  place  isn't  much,"  said 
Phil,  rather  gloomily,  wetting  his  finger  and  rub- 


A   NEW   YEAR   AND   A   NEW    PLAN.  31 

bing  at  a  shiny  place  on  his  sleeve.  "  Do  you 
really  think  I'd  better  ?  Well,  then,  I  will." 

"That's  a  dear,"  -kissing  him.  "  Be  quick, 
Philly,  for  it's  almost  time  they  were  here.  And 
please  tell  Dorry  to  make  haste.  It's  ever  so  loi:g 
since  he  went  upstairs." 

"  Dorry's  an  awful  prink,"  remarked  Phil,  confi- 
dentially. "  He  looks  in  the  glass,  and  makes  faces 
if  he  can't  get  his  parting  straight.  I  wouldn't 
care  so  much  about  my  clothes  for  a  good  deal. 
It's  like  a  girl.  Jim  Slack  says  a  boy  who  shines 
his  hair  up  like  that,  never'll  get  to  be  president, 
not  if  he  lives  a  thousand  years." 

"  Well,"  said  Katy,  laughing :  "  it's  something  to 
be  clean,  even  if  you  can't  be  president."  She  was 
not  at  all  alarmed  by  Dorry's  recent  reaction  in 
favor  of  personal  adornment.  He  came  down 
pretty  soon,  very  spick  and  span  in  his  best  suit, 
and  asked  her  to  fasten  the  blue  ribbon  under  his 
collar,  which  she  did  most  obligingly ;  though  he 
was  very  particular  as  to  the  size  of  the  bows  and 
length  of  the  ends,  and  made  her  tie  and  retie 
more  than  once.  She  had  just  arranged  it  to  suil 
him  when  a  carriage  stopped. 


82  WHAT   KATY   DTD   A1   SCUOO1- 

"Th*ie  they  are,"  she  cried.  "Run  and  open 
the  door,  Dorry." 

Dorry  did  so ;  and  Katy,  following,  found  papa 
ujhering  in  a  tall  gentleman,  and  a  lady  who  was 
not  tall,  but  whose  Roman  nose  and  long  neck,  and 
general  air  of  style  and  fashion,  made  her  look  so. 
Katy  bent  quite  over  to  be  kissed  ;  but  for  all  that 
she  felt  small  and  young  and  unformed,  as  the  eyes 
of  mamma's  cousin  looked  her  over  and  over,  and 
through  and  through,  and  Mrs.  Page  said, — 

• "  Why,  Philip  !  is  it  possible  that  this  tall  girl  is 
one  of  yours  ?  Dear  me  !  how  time  flies !  I  was 
thinking  of  the  little  creatures  I  saw  when  I  was 
here  last.  And  this  other  grsat  creature  can't  be 
Elsie  ?  That  inite  of  a  baby !  Impossible  !  I  can- 
not realize  it.  I  really  cannot  realize  it  in  the 
least." 

"Won't  you  come  to  the  fire,  Mrs.  Page?" 
said  Katy,  rather  timidly. 

44  Don't  call  me  Mrs.  Page,  my  dear.  Call  me 
Cousin  Olivia."  Then  the  new-comer  rustled  into 
the  parlor,  where  Johnnie  and  Phil  were  waiting  to 
be  introduced;  and  again  she  remarked  that;  she 
44  couldn't  realize  it."  I  don't  know  why  Mrs- 


A  NEW   YEAB  AND   A    NEW   PLAN.  33 

Page's  not  realizing  it  should  have  made  Katy  un- 
comfortable ;  but  it  did. 

Supper  went  off  well.  The  guests  ate  and 
praised ;  and  Dr.  Carr  looked  pleased,  and  said . 
"  We  think  Katy  an  excellent  housekeeper  for  hei 
age  ; "  at  which  Katy  blushed  and  was  delighted, 
till  she  caught  Mrs.  Page's  eyes  fixed  upon  her,  with 
a  look  of  scrutiny  and  amusement,  whereupon  she 
felt  awkward  and  ill  at  ease.  It  was  so  all  the 
evening.  Mamma's  cousin  was  entertaining  and 
bright,  and  told  lively  stories ;  but  the  children  felt 
that  she  was  watching  them,  and  passing  judgment 
on  their  ways.  Children  are  very  quick  to  suspect 
when  older  people  hold  within  themselves  these 
little  private  courts  of  inquiry,  and  they  always 
resent  it. 

Next  morning  Mrs.  Page  sat  by  while  Katy 
washed  the  breakfast  things,  fed  the  birds,  and  did 
various  odd  jobs  about  the  room  and  house.  "  My 
dear,"  she  said  at  last,  "  what  a  solemn  girl  you 
are  !  I  should  think  from  your  face  that  you  were 
at  least  five  and  thirty.  Don't  you  ever  laugh  01 
frolic,  like  other  girls  of  your  age?  Why,  mj 
Lilly,  who  is  four  months  older  than  you,  is  a  per 
2*  c 


64  WHAT   KATY   DID    AT   SCHOOL. 

feet  child  still ;  impulsive  as  a  baby,  bubbling  ovei 
with  fun  from  morning  till  night." 

"  I've  been  shut  up  a  good  deal,"  said  Katy,  try- 
ing to  defend  herself;  "but  I  didn't  know  I  waa 
solemn." 

"  My  dear,  that's  the  very  thing  I  complain  of : 
you  don't  know  it !  You  are  altogether  ahead  of 
your  age.  It's  very  bad  for  you,  in  my  opinion. 
All  this  housekeeping  and  care,  for  young  girls  like 
you  and  Clover,  is  wrong  and  unnatural.  I  don't 
like  it;  indeed  I  don't." 

"  Oh  !  housekeeping  doesn't  hurt  me  a  bit,"  pro- 
tested Katy,  trying  to  smile.  "  We  have  lovely 
times  ;  indeed  we  do,  Cousin  Olivia." 

Cousin  Olivia  only  pursed  up  her  mouth,  and  re 
peated :  "  It's  wrong,  my  dear.     It's   unnatural 
It's  not  the  thing  for  you.    Depend  upon  it,  it's 
not  the  thing." 

This  was  unpleasant ;  but  what  was  worse,  had 
Katy  known  it,  Mrs.  Page  attacked  Dr.  Carr  upon 
the  subject.  He  was  quite  troubled  to  learn  that 
she  considered  Katy  grave  and  careworn,  and  un- 
like what  girls  of  her  age  should  be.  Katy  caught 
him  looking  at  her  with  a  puzzled  expression. 


A  NEW  YEAR  AND  A  NEW  PLAN.      35 

"What  is  it,  dear  papa?  Do  you  want  any 
thing?" 

"  No,  child,  nothing.  What  are  you  doing 
there  ?  Mending  the  parlor  curtain,  eh  ?  Can't 
old  Mary  attend  to  that,  and  give  you  a  chance  to 
frisk  about  with  the  other  girls  ?  " 

"Pap^I  As  if  I  wanted  to  frisk!  I  declare 
you're  as  bad  as  Cousin  Olivia.  She's  always  tell- 
ing me  that  I  ought  to  bubble  over  with  mirth.  I 
don't  wish  to  bubble.  I  don't  know  how." 

"I'm  afraid  you  don't,"  said  Dr.  Carr,  with  an 
odd  sigh,  which  set  Katy  to  wondering.  What 
should  papa  sigh  for?  Had  she  done  any  thing 
yrong  ?  She  began  to  rack  her  brains  and  memory 
as  to  whether  it  could  be  this  or  that ;  or,  if  not, 
what  could  it  be?  Such  needless  self-examination 
does  no  good.  Katy  looked  more  "  solemn  "  than 
ever  after  it. 

Altogether,  Mrs.  Page  was  not  a  favorite  in  the 
family.  She  had  every  intention  of  being  kind  to 
her  cousin's  children,  "  so  dreadfully  in  want  of  a 
mother,  poor  things ! "  but  she  could  not  hide  the 
fact  that  their  ways  puzzled  and  did  r  ot  please  her ; 
and  the  children  detected  this,  as  children  alwaya 


86  WHAT  KATY   DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

will.  She  and  Mr.  Page  were  very  polite.  They 
praised  the  housekeeping,  and  the  excellent  order 
of  every  thing,  and  said  there  never  were  bet- 
ter children  in  the  world  than  John  and  Dorry 
and  Phil.  But,  through  all,  Katy  perceived  the 
hidden  disapproval ;  and  she  couldn't  help  feel- 
ing glad  when  the  visit  ended,  and  they  went 
away. 

With  their  departure,  matters  went  back  to  their 
old  train,  and  Katy  forgot  her  disagreeable  feelings. 
Papa  seemed  a  little  grave  and  preoccupied;  but 
doctors  often  are  when  they  have  bad  cases  to 
think  of,  and  nobody  noticed  it  particularly,  or  re- 
marked that  several  letters  came  from  Mrs.  Page 
and  nothing  was  heard  of  their  contents,  except 
that  "  Cousin  Olivia  sent  her  love."  So  it  was  a 
shock,  when  one  day  papa  called  Katy  into  the 
study  to  tell  her  of  a  new  plan.  She  knew  at  once 
that  it  was  something  important  when  she  heard 
his  voice :  it  sounded  so  grave.  Beside,  he  said 
"  My  daughter,"  —  a  phrase  he  never  used  except 
upon  the  most  impressive  occasions. 

"  My  daughter,"  he  began,  "  I  want  to  talk  to 
you  about  something  which  I  have  been  thinking 


A  NEW   YEAR   AND   A    NEW   PLAN.  37 

of.    How  would  you  and  Clover  like  going  away  to 
school  together?  " 

"  To  school  ?     To  Mrs.  Knight's  ?  " 

44  No,  not  to  Mrs.  Knight's.  To  a  boarding-school 
at  the  East,  where  Lilly  Page  has  been  for  two 
years.  Didn't  you  hear  Cousin  Olivia  speak  of  it 
when  she  was  here  ?  " 

"  I  believe  I  did.    But,  papa,  you  won't  really  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  think  so,"  said  Dr.  Carr,  gently.  "  Listen, 
Katy,  and  don't  feel  so  badly,  my  dear  child.  I've 
thought  the  plan  over  carefully ;  and  it  seems  to 
me  a  good  one,  though  I  hate  to  part  from  you.  It 
is  pretty  much  as  your  cousin  says :  these  home- 
cares,  which  I  can't  take  from  you  while  you  are 
at  home,  are  making  you  old  before  your  time. 
Heaven  knows  I  don't  want  to  turn  you  into  a 
silly  giggling  miss ;  but  I  should  like  you  to  enjoy 
your  youth  while  you  have  it,  and  not  grow  mid- 
dle-aged before  you  are  twenty." 

44  What  is  the  name  of  the  school  ? "  asked 
Katy.  Her  voice  sounded  a  good  deal  like  a  sob. 

"  The  girls  call  it 4  The  Nunnery.'  It  is  at  Hills- 
over,  on  the  Connecticut  River,  pretty  far  North. 
And  the  winters  are  pretty  cold,  I  fancy  *,  but  the  air 


38  WHAT   KAT?   DID   AT   SCHOOL 

is  sure  to  be  good  and  bracing.     That  is  one  thing 

which  has  inclined  me  to  the  plan.     The  climate 

is  just  what  you  need." 

"  Hillsover  ?     Isn't  there  a  college  there  too  ?  " 
"  Yes :  Arrowmouth  College.     I  believe  there  is 

;lways  a  college  where  there  is  a  boarding-school ; 

'.hough  why,  I  can't  for  the  life  of  me  imagine. 

That's  neither  here  nor  there,  however.  I'm  not 
afraid  of  your  getting  into  silly  scrapes,  as  girls 
sometimes  do." 

"  College  scrapes  ?  Why,  how  could  I  ?  We 
don't  have  any  thing  to  do  with  the  college,  do 
we  ? "  said  Katy,  opening  her  candid  eyes  with 
such  a  wondering  stare  that  Dr.  Carr  laughed,  as 
he  patted  her  cheek  and  replied:  "No,  my  dear, 
not  a  thing." 

"  The  term  opens  the  third  week  in  April,"  he 
went  on.  "  You  must  begin  to  get  ready  at  once. 
Mrs.  Hall  has  just  fitted  out  Cecy :  so  she  can  tell 
you  what  you  will  need.  You'd  better  consult  her, 


to-morrow." 


"But,  papa,"  cried  Katy,  beginning  to  realize  it, 
"  what  are  you  going  to  do  ?  Elsie's  a  darling,  but 
she's  so  very  little.  I  don't  see  how  you  can  po* 


A   NEW    YEAR   AND  A   NEW   ±»L,AN.  39 

sibly  manage.     I'm  sure  you'll  miss  us,  and  so  will 
the  children." 

"  I  rather  think  we  shall,"  said  Dr.  Carr,  with  a 
smile,  which  ended  in  a  sigh ;  "  but  we  shall  do 
very  well,  Katy ;  never  fear.  Miss  Finch  will  see 
to  us." 

"  Miss  Finch  ?  Do  you  mean  Mrs.  Knight's 
sister-in-law  ?  " 

44  Yes.  Her  mother  died  in  the  summer;  so  she 
has  no  particular  home  now?  and  is  glad  to  come  for 
a  year  and  keep  house  for  us.  Mrs.  Knight  says 
she  is  a  good  manager;  and  I  dare  say  she'll  fill 
your  place  sufficiently  well,  as  far  as  that  goes. 
We  can't  expect  her  to  be  you,  you  know:  that 
would  be  unreasonable."  And  Dr.  Carr  put  his 
arm  round  Kate,  and  kissed  her  so  fondly  that  she 
was  quite  overcome  and  clung  to  him,  crying,  — 

"  O  papa !  don't  make  us  go.  I'll  frisk,  and 
be  as  young  as  I  can,  and  not  grow  middle-aged  or 
any  thing  disagreeable,  if  only  you  '11  let  us  stay, 
Never  mind  what  Cousin  Olivia  says;  she  doesn't 
know.  Cousin  Helen  wouldn't  say  so,  I'm  sure." 

"  On  the  contrary,  Helen  thinks  well  of  the 
plan;  only  she  wishes  the  school  were  nearer/ 


40  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

said  Dr.  Carr.  "  No,  Katy,  don't  coax.  My  mind 
is  made  up.  It  will  do  you  and  Clover  both  good» 
and  once  you  are  settled  at  Hillsover,  you'll  je 
very  happy,  I  hope." 

When  papa  spoke  in  this  decided  tone,  it  waa 
uever  any  use  to  urge  him.  Katy  knew  this,  and 
ceased  her  pleadings.  She  went  to  find  Clover  and 
tell  her  the  news,  and  the  two  girls  had  a  hearty 
cry  together.  A  sort  of  "  clearing-up  shower  "  it 
turned  out  to  be  ;  for  when  once  they  had  wiped 
their  eyes,  every  tlu'ng  looked  brighter,  and  they 
began  to  see  a  pleasant  side  to  the  plan. 

"  The  travelling  part  of  it  will  be  very  nice," 
pronounced  Clover.  "  We  never  went  so  far  away 
from  home  before." 

Elsie,  who  was  still  looking  very  woful,  burst 
into  tears  afresh  at  this  remark. 

"  Oh,  don't,  darling  1 "  said  Katy.  "  Think  how 
pleasant  it  will  be  to  send  letters,  and  to  get  them 
from  us.  I  shall  write  to  you  every  Saturday. 
Run  for  the  big  atlas,  —  there's  a  dear,  and  let  us 
see  where  we  are  going." 

Elsie  brought  the  atlas ;  and  the  three  heads  bent 
eageHy  over  it,  as  Clover  traced  the  route  of  the 


A  NEW   YEAR  AND  A   NEW   PLAN.  41 

journey  with  her  forefinger.  How  exciting  it 
looked!  There  was  the  railroad,  twisting  and 
curving  over  half-a-dozen  States.  The  black  dots 
which  followed  it  were  towns  and  villages,  all  of 
which  they  should  see.  By  and  by  the  road 
made  a  bend,  and  swept  northward  by  the  side  of 
the  Connecticut  River  and  toward  the  hills.  They 
had  heard  how  beautiful  the  Connecticut  valley  is. 

"  Only  think  !  we  shall  be  close  to  it,"  remarked 
Clover;  "and  we  shall  see  the  hills.  I  suppose 
they  are  very  high,  a  great  deal  higher  than  the 
hill  at  Bolton." 

"  I  hope  so,"  laughed  Dr.  Carr,  who  came  into 
the  room  just  then.  The  hill  at  Bolton  was  one 
of  his  favorite  jokes.  When  mamma  first  came  to 
Burnet,  she  had  paid  a  visit  to  some  friends  at 
Bolton,  and  one  day,  when  they  were  all  out 
walking,  they  asked  her  if  she  felt  strong  enough 
to  go  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  Mamma  was  used  to 
hills,  so  she  said  yes,  and  walked  on,  very  glad  to 
find  that  there  was  a  hill  in  that  flat  country,  but 
wondering  a  little  why  they  did  not  see  it.  At 
last  she  asked  where  it  was,  and,  behold,  they  had 
just  reached  the  top !  The  slope  had  been  so 


42  WHAT  KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

gradual  that  she  had  never  found  out  that  fchey 
were  going  uphill  at  all.  Dr.  Carr  had  told  this 
story  to  the  children,  but  had  never  been  able  to 
make  them  see  the  joke  very  clearly.  In  fact,  when 
Clover  went  to  Bolton,  she  was  quite  struck  with 
the  hill:  it  was  so  much  higher  than  the  sand- 
bank which  bordered  the  lake  at  Burnet. 

There  was  a  great  deal  to  do  to  make  the  girls 
ready  for  school  by  the  third  week  in  April.  Mrs.  Hall 
was  very  kind,  and  her  advice  was  sensible ;  though, 
except  for  Dr.  Carr,  the  girls  would  hardly  have 
had  furs  and  flannels  enough  for  so  cold  a  place  as 
Hillsover.  Every  thing  for  winter  as  well  as  for 
summer  had  to  be  thought  of;  for  it  had  been 
arranged  that  the  girls  should  not  come  home  for 
the  autumn  vacation,  but  should  spend  it  with  Mrs. 
Page.  This  was  the  hardest  thing  about  the  plan. 
Katy  begged  very  hard  for  Christmas ;  but  when 
she  learned  that  it  would  take  three  days  to  come 
and  three  to  go,  and  that  the  holidays  lasted  less 
than  a  week,  she  saw  it  was  of  no  use,  and  gave 
up  the  idea,  while  Elsie  tried  to  comfort  herself  by 
planning  a  Christmas-box.  The  preparations  kept 
them  so  *Misy  that  there  was  no  time  for  any  thing 


A  NEW  YEAB  AND  A  NEW  PLAN.      43 

else.  Mrs.  Hall  was  always  wanting  them  to  go 
with  her  to  shops,  or  Miss  Petingill  demanding  that 
they  should  try  on  linings  ;  and  so  the  days  flew  by. 
At  last  all  was  ready.  The  nice  half-dozens  of 
pretty  underclothes  came  home  from  the  sewing- 
machine  woman's,  and  were  done  up  by  Bridget, 
who  dropped  many  a  tear  into  the  bluing  water, 
at  the  thought  of  the  young  ladies  going  away. 
Mrs.  Hall,  who  was  a  good  packer,  put  the  things 
into  the  new  trunks.  Everybody  gave  the  girls 
presents,  as  if  they  had  been  brides  starting  on  a 
wedding  journey. 

Papa's  was  a  watch  for  each.  They  were  not 
new,  but  the  girls  thought  them  beautiful.  Katy's 
had  belonged  to  her  mother.  It  was  large  and  old- 
fashioned,  with  a  finely  wrought  case.  Clover's, 
which  had  been  her  grandmother's,  was  larger  still. 
It  had  a  quaint  ornament  on  the  back,  —  a  sort  of 
true-love  knot,  done  in  gold  of  different  tints.  The 
girls  were  excessively  pleased  with  these  watches, 
They  wore  them  with  guard-chains  of  black  wa- 
tered ribbon,  and  every  other  minute  they  looked 
to  see  what  the  time  was. 

Elsie    had   been   in  papa's   confidence,   so  ha> 


44  WHAT    KATY   DID    AT    SCHOOL. 

presents  were  watch  cases,  embroidered  on  perfo- 
rated ->aper.  Johnnie  gave  Katy  a  case  of  pencils, 
ind  Clover  a  pen-knife  with  a  pearl  handle.  Dorry 
and  Phil  clubbed  to  buy  a  box  of  note  -paper  and 
envelopes,  which  the  girls  were  requested  to  divide 
between  them.  Miss  Petingill  contributed  a  bottle 
of  ginger  balsam,  and  a  box  of  opodeldoc  salve,  to 
be  used  in  case  of  possible  chilblains.  Old  Mary's 
offering  was  a  couple  of  needle-books,  full  of  bright 
sharp  needles. 

"  I  wouldn't  give  you  scissors,"  she  said ;  "  but 
you  can't  cut  love  —  or,  for  the  matter  of  that, 
any  thing  else  —  with  a  needle." 

Miss  Finch,  the  new  housekeeper,  arrived  a  few 
days  before  they  started:  so  Katy  had  time  to 
take  her  over  the  house  and  explain  all  the  differ- 
ent things  she  wanted  done  and  not  done,  to  secure 
papa's  comfort  and  the  children's.  Miss  Finch  was 
meek  and  gentle.  She  seemed  glad  of  a  comforta- 
ble home.  And  Katy  felt  that  she  would  be  kind  to 
tne  boys,  and  not  fret  Debby,  and  drive  her  into 
marrying  Alexander  and  going  away,  —  an  event 
which  Aunt  Izzie  had  been  used  to  predict.  Now 
that  all  was  settled,  she  and  Clover  found  them- 


A  NEW  YEAB  AND  A  NEW  PLAN.      45 

selves  looking  forward  to  the  change  with  pleasure. 
There  was  something  new  and  interesting  about  it 
which  excited  their  imaginations. 

The  last  evening  was  a  melancholy  one.  Elsie 
bad  been  too  much  absorbed  in  the  preparations  to 
realize  her  loss ;  but,  when  it  came  to  locking  the 
trunks,  her  courage  gave  way  altogether.  She  was 
in  such  a  state  of  affliction  that  everybody  else  be- 
came afflicted  too ;  and  there  is  no  knowing  what 
would  have  happened,  had  not  a  parcel  arrived  by 
express  and  distracted  their  attention.  The  parcel 
was  from  Cousin  Helen,  whose  things,  like  herself, 
had  a  knack  of  coming  at  the  moment  when  most 
wanted.  It  contained  two  pretty  silk  umbrellas,  — 
one  brown,  and  one  dark -green,  with  Katy's  ini- 
tials on  one  handle  and  Clover's  on  the  other. 
Opening  these  treasures,  and  exclaiming  over  them, 
helped  the  family  through  the  evening  wonderfully  ; 
and  next  morning  there  was  such  a  bustle  of  get- 
ting off  that  nobody  had  time  to  cry. 

After  the  last  kisses  had  been  given,  and  Philly, 
who  had  climbed  on  the  horse-block,  was  clamoring 
for  "  one  more,  —  just  one  more,"  Dr.  Carr,  looking 
at  the  sober  faces,  was  struck  by  a  bright  idea  and, 


46  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

calling  Alexander,  told  him  to  hurry  old  White j 
into  the  carryall,  and  drive  the  children  down  to 
Willett's  Point,  that  they  might  wave  their  hand- 
kerchiefs to  the  boat  as  she  went  by.  This  sug- 
gestion worked  like  a  charm  on  the  spirits  of  the 
party.  Phil  began  to  caper,  and  Elsie  and  John 
ran  in  to  get  their  hats.  Half  an  hour  later,  when 
the  boat  rounded  the  point,  there  stood  the  little 
crew,  radiant  with  smiles,  fluttering  their  handker- 
chiefs and  kissing  their  hands  as  cheerfully  as  pos 
sible.  It  was  a  pleasant  last  look  to  the  two  who 
stood  beside  papa  on  the  deck ;  and,  as  they  waved 
back  their  greetings  to  the  little  ones,  and  then 
looked  forward  across  the  blue  water  to  the  un- 
known places  they  were  going  to  see,  Katy  and 
Clover  felt  that  the  new  life  opened  well,  and 
promised  to  be  very  interesting  indeed. 


ON   THE  WAY.  47 


CHAPTER  III. 

ON   THE  WAY. 

[HE  journey  from  Burnet  to  Hillsover 
was  a  very  long  one.  It  took  the  greater 
part  of  three  days,  and  as  Dr.  Carr  was 
in  a  hurry  to  get  back  to  his  patients,  they  trav- 
elled without  stopping ;  spending  the  first  night  on 
the  boat,  and  the  second  on  a  railroad  train.  Papa 
found  this  tiresome  ;  but  the'  girls,  to  whom  every 
thing  was  new,  thought  it  delightful.  They 
enjoyed  their  state-room,  with  its  narrow  shelves 
of  beds,  as  much  as  if  it  had  been  a  baby  house, 
and  they  two  children  playing  in  it.  To  tuck 
themselves  away  for  the  night  in  a  car-action 
seemed  the  greatest  fun  in  the  world.  When 
older  people  fretted,  they  laughed.  Every  thing 
was  interesting,  from  the  telegraph  poles  by  the 
wayside  to  the  faces  of  their  fellow-passengers. 


48  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

It  amused  them  to  watch  strange  people,  and  mak« 
up  stories  about  them,  —  where  they  were  going, 
and  what  relation  they  could  be  to  each  other. 
The  strange  people,  in  their  turn,  cast  curious 
glances  toward  the  bright,  happy-faced  sisters ;  but 
Katy  and  Clover  did  not  mind  that,  or,  in  fact, 
notice  it.  They  were  too  much  absorbed  to  think 
of  themselves,  OT  the  impression  they  were  making 
on  others. 

It  was  early  on  the  third  morning  that  the  train, 
puffing  and  shiieking,  ran  into  the  Springfield 
depot.  Other  trains  stood  waiting  ;  and  there  was 
such  a  chorus  of  snorts  and  whistles,  and  such 
clouds  of  smoke,  that  Katy  was  half  frightened. 
Papa,  who  was  half  asleep,  jumped  up,  and  told 
the  girls  to  collect  their  bags  and  books ;  for  they 
were  to  breakfast  here,  and  to  meet  Lilly  Page, 
who  was  going  on  to  Hillsover  with  them. 

44 Do  you  suppose  she  is  here  already?"  asked 
Katy,  tucking  the  railway  guide  into  the  shawl- 
strap,  and  closing  her  bag  with  a  snap. 

"  Yes :  we  shall  meet  her  at  the  Massasoit.  She 
and  her  father  were  to  pass  the  night  there." 

The  Massasoit  was  close  at  hand,  and  in  less 


OH    THE   WAY.  49 

khan  five  minutes  the  girls  and  papa  were  seated 
at  a  table  in  its  pleasant  dining-room.  They 
were  ordering  their  breakfast,  when  Mr.  Pago 
came  in,  accompanied  by  his  daughter,  —  a  pretty 
girl,  with  light  hair,  delicate,  rather  sharp  feat- 
ures, and  her  mother's  stylish  ease  of  manner.  Her 
travelling  dress  was  simple,  but  had  the  finish 
which  a  French  dressmaker  knows  how  to  give  to 
a  simple  thing  ;  and  all  its  appointments  —  boots, 
hat,  gloves,  collar,  neck  ribbon  —  were  so  perfect, 
each  in  its  way,  that  Clover,  glancing  down  at  her 
own  gray  alpaca,  and  then  at  Katy's,  felt  sud 
denly  countrified  and  shabby. 

"  Well,  Lilly,  here  they  are ;  here  are  your 
cousins,"  said  Mr.  Page,  giving  the  girls  a  cordial 
greeting.  Lilly  only  said,  "  How  do  you  do  ? " 
Clover  saw  her  glancing  at  the  gray  alpacas,  and 
was  conscious  of  a  sudden  flush.  But  perhapa 
Lilly  looked  at  something  beside  the  alpaca ;  for 
after  a  minute  her  manner  changed,  and  became 
more  friendly. 

"  Did  you  order  waffles  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Waffles  ?  no,  I  think  not,"  replied  Katy. 

"  Oh  1   why  not  ?     Don't  you  know  how   cele- 

8 


50  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

bra  ted  they  are  for  waffles  at  this  hotel?  I 
thought  everybody  knew  that"  Then  she  tinkled 
her  fork  against  her  glass,  and,  when  the  waiter 
came,  said,  "  Waffles,  please,"  with  an  air  which 
impressed  Clover  extremely.  Lilly  seemed  to  her 
like  a  young  lady  in  a  story,  —  so  elegant  and 
self-possessed.  She  wondered  if  all  the  girls  at 
Hillsover  were  going  to  be  like  her  ? 

The  waffles  came,  crisp  and  hot,  with  delicious 
maple  syrup  to  eat  on  them ;  and  the  party  made  a 
satisfactory  breakfast.  Lilly,  in  spite  of  all  her  ele- 
gance, displayed  a  wonderful  appetite.  "  You  see," 
she  explained  to  Clover,  "  I  don't  expect  to  have 
another  decent  thing  to  eat  till  next  September,  — 
not  a  thing :  so  I'm  making  the  most  of  this."  Ac- 
cordingly she  disposed  of  nine  waffles,  in  quick 
succession,  before  she  found  time  to  utter  any 
thing  farther,  except  "  Butter,  please,"  or,  "  May 
I  trouble  you  for  the  molasses?"  As  she  swal- 
lowed the  last  morsel,  Dr.  Carr,  looking  at  his 
watch,  said  that  it  was  time  to  start  for  tho 
train ;  and  they  set  off.  Mr.  Page  went  with 
them.  As  they  crossed  the  street,  Katy  was  sur- 
prised to  see  that  Lilly,  who  had  seemed  quite 


OK   THE   WAY.  bi 

happy  only  a  minute  before,  had  begun  to  cry. 
After  they  reached  the  car,  her  teais  increased  to 
sobs:  she  grew  almost  hysterical. 

"  Oh !  don't  make  me  go,  papa,''  she  implored, 
r.lingiiig  to  her  father's  arm.  "  I  shall  be  so  home- 
sick !  It  will  kill  me :  I  know  it  will.  Please 
let  me  stay.  Please  let  me  go  home  with 
you." 

"  Now,  my  darling,"  protested  Mr.  Page,  "  this 
is  foolish :  you  know  it  is." 

"  I  can't  help  it,"  blubbered  Lilly.  "  I  ca  — n't 
help  it.  Oh !  don't,  don't  make  me  go.  Don't, 
papa  dear.  I  ca  —  n't  bear  it." 

Katy  and  Clover  felt  embarrassed  during  this 
scene.  They  had  always  been  used  to  considering 
tears  as  things  to  be  rather  ashamed  of,  —  to  be 
kept  back,  if  possible ;  or,  if  not,  shed  in  private 
corners,  in  dark  closets,  or  behind  the  bed  in 
the  nursery.  To  see  the  stylish  Lilly  crying  like 
a  baby  in  the  midst  of  a  railway  carriage,  with 
strangers  looking  on,  quite  shocked  them.  It  did 
not  last  long,  however.  The  whistle  sounded,- 
the  conductor  shouted,  "  All  aboard !  "  and  Mr. 
Page,  giving  Lilly  a  last  kiss,  disengaged  her  cling 


52  WHAT   KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

ing  arms,  put  her  into  the  seat  beside  Clover,  and 
hurried  out  of  the  car.  Lilly  sobbed  loudly  for 
a  few  seconds ;  then  she  dried  her  eyes,  lifted  hei 
head,  adjusted  her  veil  and  the  wrists  of  her  three- 
buttoned  gloves,  and  remarked,  — 

"  I  always  go  on  in  this  way.  Ma  says  I  am  a 
real  cry-baby ;  and  I  suppose  I  am.  I  don't  see 
how  people  can  be  calm  and  composed  when  they're 
leaving  home,  do  you  ?  You'll  be  just  as  bad  to- 
morrow, when  you  come  to  say  good-by  to  your 
papa." 

"  Oh !  I  hope  not,"  said  Katy.  "  Because  papa 
would  feel  so  badly." 

Lilly  stared.  "  I  shall  think  you  real  cold- 
hearted  if  you  don't,"  she  said,  in  an  offended 
tone. 

Katy  took  no  notice  of  the  tone  ;  and  before  long 
Lilly  recovered  from  her  pettishness,  and  began 
to  talk  about  the  school.  Katy  and  Clover  asked 
eager  questions.  They  were  eager  to  hear  all  that 
Lilly  could  tell. 

"  You'll  adore  Mrs.  Florence,"  she  said.  "  Al] 
the  girls  do.  She's  the  most  fascinating  woman! 
She  does  just  what  she  likes  with  everybody.  Why, 


ON  THE   WiiY.  58 

pveu  the  students  think  her  perfectly  splendid  ; 
and  yet  she's  just  as  strict  as  she  can  be." 

"Strict  with  the  students?"  asked  Clover, 
looking  puzzled. 

"  No :  strict  with  us  girls.  She  never  lets  any 
one  call,  unless  it's  a  brother  or  a  first  cousin  ;  and 
then  you  have  to  have  a  letter  from  your  parents, 
asking  permission.  I  wanted  ma  to  write  and  say 
that  George  Hickman  might  call  on  me.  He  isn't 
a  first  cousin  exactly,  but  his  father  married 
pa's  sister-in-law's  sister.  So  it's  just  as  good. 
But  ma  was  real  mean  about  it.  She  says  I'm  too 
young  to  have  gentlemen  coming  to  see  me !  I 
can't  think  why.  Ever  so  many  girls  have  them, 
who  are  younger  than  I. 

"  Which  Row  are  you  going  to  room  in  ?  "  she 
went  on. 

"I  don't  know.  Nobody  told  us  that  there 
.were  any  rows." 

"  Oh,  yes !  Shaker  Row  and  Quaker  Row  and 
Attic  Row.  Attic  Row  is  the  nicest,  because 
it's  highest  up,  and  furthest  away  from  Mrs. 
Florence.  My  room  is  in  Attic  Row.  Annie 
Silsbie  and  I  engaged  it  last  term.  You'll  be  ID 


t)4  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT    SCHOOL. 

Quaker  Row,  I  guess.  Most  of  the  new  girls 
are." 

"Is  that  a  nice  row?"  asked  Clover,  greatly 
interested. 

"  Pretty  nice.  It  isn't  so  good  as  Attic,  but  it's 
ever  so  much  better  than  Shaker ;  because  there 
you're  close  to  Mrs.  Florence,  and  can't  have  a 
bit  of  fun  without  her  hearing  you.  I'd  try  to 
get  the  end  room,  if  I  were  you.  Mary  Andrews 
and  I  had  it  once.  There  is  a  splendid  view  of 
Berry  Searles's  windows." 

"  Berry  Searles  ?  " 

"  Yes  :  President  Searles,  you  know ;  his 
youngest  son.  He's  an  elegant  fellow.  All  the 
girls  are  cracked  about  him,  —  perfectly  cracked  * 
The  president's  house  is  next  door  to  the  Nun- 
nery, you  know ;  and  Berry  rooms  at  the  very  end 
of  the  back  building,  just  opposite  Quaker  Row. 
It  used  to  be  such  fun  I  He'd  sit  at  his  window, 
*nd  we'd  sit  at  ours,  in  silent  study  hoiir,  you 
know ;  and  he'd  pretend  to  read,  and  all  the  time 
keep  looking  over  the  top  of  his  book  at  us, 
Mid  trying  to  make  us  laugh.  Once  Mary  did 
U»ugh  right  out ;  and  Miss  Jane  heard  her,  and 


ON   THE    WAT.  65 

oune  in.  But  Berry  is  just  as  quick  as  a  flash, 
and  ho  ducked  down  under  the  window-sill :  so 
she  didn't  see  him.  It  was  such  fun  ! " 

44  Who's  Miss  Jane  ?  "  asked  Katy. 

"  The  horridest  old  thing.  She's  Mrs.  Florence  a 
niece,  and  engaged  to  a  missionary.  Mrs.  Florence 
keeps  her  on  purpose  to  spy  us  girls,  and  report 
when  we  break  the  rules.  Oh,  those  rules  !  Just 
wait  til"  you  come  to  read  'em  over.  They're 
nailed  up  on  all  the  doors,  —  thirty-two  of  them, 
and  you  can't  help  breaking  'em  if  you  try  ever  so 
much.''  v 

"What  are  they?  what  sorts  of  rules?"  cried 
Katy  and  Clover  in  a  breath. 

44  Oh !  about  being  punctual  to  prayers,  and  turn- 
ing your  mattress,  and  smoothing  over  the  under- 
sheet  before  you  leave  your  room,  and  never 
speaking  a  word  in  the  hall,  or  in  private  study 
hour,  and  hanging  your  towel  on  your  own  'iail  in 
the  wash-room,  and  all  that." 

44  Wash-room  ?  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  Katy, 
aghast. 

"  At  the  head  of  Quaker  Row,  you  know.  All  the 
girls  wash  there,  except  on  Saturdays,  when  thej 


56  WHAT  KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

go  to  the  bath-house.  You  have  your  own  bowl 
and  soap-dish,  and  a  hook  for  youi  towel.  Why, 
what's  the  matter  ?  How  big  your  eyes  are  !  " 

"I  never  heard  any  thing  so  horrid!"  cried 
Katy,  when  she  had  recovered  her  breath.  "  Do 
you  really  mean  that  the  girls  don't  have  wash- 
stands  in  their  own  rooms?" 

"You'll  get  used  to  it.  All  the  girls  do,"  re- 
sponded Lilly. 

"  I  don't  want  to  get  used  to  it,"  said  Katy, 
resolving  to  appeal  to  papa;  but  papa  had  gone 
into  the  smoking-car,  and  she  had  to  wait.  Mean- 
time Lilly  went  on  talking. 

"  If  you  have  that  end  room  in  Quaker  Row, 
you'll  see  all  the  fun  that  goes  on  at  commence- 
ment time.  Mrs.  Searles  always  has  a  big  party, 
and  you  can  look  right  in,  and  watch  the  people  and 
the  supper-table,  just  as  if  you  were  there.  Last 
summer,  Berry  and  Alpheus  Seccomb  got  a  lot  of 
cakes  and  mottoes  from  the  table  and  came  out  into 
the  yard,  and  threw  them  up  one  by  one  to  Hose 
Red  and  her  room-mate.  They  didn't  have  the 
end  room,  though ;  but  the  one  next  to  it." 

"  What  a  funny  name !  —  Rose  Red,"  said  Clover. 


ON   THE    WAY.  67 

41  Oh  1  her  real  name  is  Rosamond  Redding  ;  but 
the  girls  call  her  Rose  Red.  She's  the  greatest 
witch  in  the  school ;  not  exactly  pretty,  you  know, 
but  sort  of  killing  and  fascinating.  She's  always 
getting  into  the  most  awful  scrapes.  Mrs.  Florence 
would  have  expelled  her  long  ago,  if  she  hadn't 
been  such  a  favorite ;  and  Mr.  Redding's  daughter, 
beside.  He's  a  member  of  Congress,  you  know, 
and  all  that ;  and  Mrs.  Florence  is  quite  proud  of 
having  Rose  in  her  school. 

"  Berry  Searles  is  so  funny ! "  she  continued. 
"  His  mother  is  a  horrid  old  thing,  and  always  inter- 
fering with  him.  Sometimes  when  he  has  a  party 
of  fellows  in  his  room,  and  they're  playing  cards, 
we  can  see  her  coming  with  her  candle  through 
the  house ;  and  when  she  gets  to  his  door,  she  tries 
it,  and  then  she  knocks,  and  calls  out,  '  Abernethy, 
my  son ! '  And  the  fellows  whip  the  cards  into 
their  pockets,  and  stick  the  bottles  under  the  table, 
and  get  out  their  books  and  dictionaries  like  a 
flash ;  and  when  Berry  unlocks  the  door,  there 
they  sit,  studying  away ;  and  Mrs.  Searles  looks  so 
disappointed !  I  thought  I  should  die  one 
Mary  Andrews  and  I  laughed  so." 
8* 


58  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL,. 

I  verily  believe  that  if  Dr.  Carr  had  been  present 
at  this  conversation,  he  would  have  stopped  at  the 
next  station,  and  taken  the  girls  back  to  Burnet. 
But  he  did  not  return  from  the  smoking-car  till  the 
anecdotes  about  Berry  were  finished,  and  Lilly  had 
begun  again  on  Mrs.  Florence. 

il  She's  a  sort  of  queen,  you  know.  Everybody 
minds  her.  She's  tall,  and  always  dresses  beauti- 
fully. Her  eyes  are  lovely ;  but,  when  she  gets 
angry,  they're  perfectly  awful.  Rose  Red  saya 
she'd  rather  face  a  mad  bull  any  day  than  Mrs. 
Florence  in  a  fury ;  and  Rose  ought  to  know,  for 
she's  had  more  reprimands  than  any  girl  in  school.'' 

"  How  many  girls  are  there  ?  "  inquired  Dr. 
Carr. 

"  There  were  forty-eight  last  term.  I  don't 
know  how  many  there'll  be  this,  for  they  say  Mrs. 
Florence  is  going  to  give  up.  It's  she  who  makes 
the  school  so  popular." 

All  this  time  the  train  was  moving  northward. 
With  every  mile  the  country  grew  prettier. 
Spring  had  not  fairly  opened ;  but  the  grass  was 
green,  and  the  buds  on  the  trees  gave  a  tender 
mist-like  color  to  the  -woods.  The  road  followed 


ON   THE   WAY  59 

the  river,  whicn  here  and  there  turne  1  upon  itself 
in  long  links  and  windings.  Ranges  of  blue  hills 
closed  the  distance.  Now  and  then  a  nearer  moun- 
tain rose,  single  and  alone,  from  the  plain.  The  air 
was  cool,  and  full  of  a  brilliant  zest,  which  the 
Western  girls  had  never  before  tasted.  Katy  felt  as 
if  she  were  drinking  champagne.  She  and  Clover 
flew  from  window  to  window,  exclaiming  with 
such  delight  that  Lilly  was  surprised. 

"  I  can't  see  what  there  is  to  make  such  a  fuss 
about,"  she  remarked.  "  That's  only  Deerfield. 
It's  quite  a  small  place." 

"  But  how  pretty  it  looks,  nestled  in  among  the 
hills  I  Hills  are  lovely,  Clover,  aren't  they  ?  " 

"  These  hills  are  nothing.  You  should  see  the 
White  Mountains,"  said  the  experienced  Lilly. 
"  Ma  and  I  spent  three  weeks  at  the  Profile 
House  last  vacation.  It  was  perfectly  elegant." 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  Katy  drew  papa 
away  to  a  distant  seat,  and  confided  her  distress 
about  the  wash-stands. 

"  Don't  you  think  it  is  horrid,  papa  ?  Aunt  Izzie 
always  said  that  it  isn't  lady-like  not  to  take  a 
epouge-bath  every  morning  ;  but  how  cau  we,  with 


60  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

forty -eight  girls  in  the  room  ?  I  don't-  see  what 
we  are  going  to  do." 

"  I  fancy  we  can  arrange  it ;  don't  be  distressed, 
my  dear,"  replied  Dr.  Carr.  And  Katy  was  satis- 
fied •>  for  when  papa  undertook  to  arrange  things, 
they  were  very  apt  to  be  done. 

It  was  almost  evening  when  they  reached  their 
final  stopping-place. 

"  Now,  two  miles  in  the  stage,  and  then  we're  at 
the  horrid  old  Nunnery,"  said  Lilly.  "  Ugh !  look 
at  that  snow.  It  never  melts  here  till  long  after 
it's  all  gone  at  home.  How  I  do  hate  this  station ! 
I'm  going  to  be  awfully  homesick  :  I  know  I  am." 

But  just  then  she  caught  sight  of  the  stage- 
coach, which  stood  waiting ;  and  her  mood  changed, 
for  the  stage  was  full  of  girls  who  had  come  by  the 
other  train. 

"  Hurrah !  there's  Mary  Edwards  and  Mary 
Silver,"  she  exclaimed;  "and,  I  declare,  Rose 
Red !  O  you  precious  darling  1  how  do  you  do  ?  " 
Scrambling  up  the  steps,  she  plunged  at  a  girl 
with  waving  hair,  and  a  rosy,  mischievous  face; 
and  began  kissing  her  with  effusion. 

Rose    Red    did    not  seem   equally   enchanted. 


ON    THE   WAY.  6l 

"  Well,  Lilly,  how  are  you  ?  "  she  said,  and  then 
went  on  talking  to  a  girl  who  sat  by  her  side, 
and  whose  hand  she  held ;  while  Lilly  rushed  up 
ind  down  the  line,  embracing  and  being  embraced 
She  did  not  introduce  Katy  and  Clover;  and,  as 
papa  was  outside,  on  the  driver's  box,  they  felt 
a  little  lonely,  and  strange.  All  the  rest  were 
chattering  merrily,  and  were  evidently  well  ac- 
quainted: they  were  the  only  ones  left  out. 

Clover  watched  Rose  Red,  to  whose  face  she 
had  taken  a  fancy.  It  made  her  think  of  a  pink 
carnation,  or  of  a  twinkling  wild  rose,  with  saucy 
whiskers  of  brown  calyx.  Whatever  she  said  or 
did  seemed  full  of  a  flavor  especially  her  own. 
Her  eyes,  which  were  blue,  and  not  very  large, 
sparkled  with  fun  and  mischief.  Her  cheeks  were 
round  and  soft,  like  a  baby's ;  when  she  laughed, 
two  dimples  broke  their  pink,  and  made  you  want 
to  laugh  too.  A  cunning  white  throat  supported 
this  pretty  head,  as  a  stem  supports  a  flower;  and, 
altogether,  she  was  like  a  flower,  except  that  flow- 
ers don't  talk,  and  she  talked  all  the  time.  What 
she  said  seemed  very  droll,  for  the  girls  about  her 
were  in  fits  of  laughter ;  but  Clover  only  caught 


62  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

a  word  now  and  then,  the  stage  made  such  a 
noise. 

Suddenly  Rose  Red  leaned  forward,  and  touched 
Clover's  hand. 

44  What's  your  name  ?  "  she  said.  "  You've  got 
eyes  like  my  sister's.  Are  you  coming  to  the 
Nunnery  ?  " 

44  Yes,"  replied  Clover,  smiling  back.  44  My 
aame  is  Clover,  —  Clover  Carr." 

44  What  a  dear  little  name  I  It  sounds  just  aa 
you  look ! " 

44  So  does  your  name,  —  Rose  Red,"  said  Clover, 
shyly. 

"  It's  a  ridiculous  name,"  protested  Rose  Red, 
trying  to  pout.  Just  then  the  stage  stopped. 

44 Why?  Who's  going  to  the  hotel?"  cried 
the  school-girls,  in  a  chorus. 

44 1  am,"  said  Dr.  Carr,  putting  his  head  in  at 
the  door,  with  a  smile  which  captivated  every 
gii]  there.  "  Come,  Katy ;  come,  Clover.  I've 
decided  that  you  sha'n't  begin  school  till  to- 
morrow." 

44  Oh,  my  I  Don't  I  wish  he  was  my  pa ! "  cried 
Rose  Red.  Then  the  stage  moved  on. 


03S    THE   WAY.  68 

"  Who  are  they?  What's  their  name  ?  "  asked 
tLe  girls.  "  They  look  nice." 

"  They're  sort  of  cousins  of  mine,  and  they  come 
from  the  West,"  replied  Lilly,  not  unwilling  to 
own  the  relationship,  now  that  she  perceived  that 
Dr.  Carr  had  made  a  favorable  impression. 

"  Why  on  earth  didn't  you  introduce  them, 
then?  I  declare  that  was  just  like  you,  Lilly 
Page,"  put  in  Rose  Red,  indignantly.  "  They 
looked  so  lonesome  that  I  wanted  to  pat  and  stroke 
both  of  'em.  That  little  one  has  the  sweetest 
eyes  I" 

Meantime  Katy  and  Clover  entered  the  hotel, 
very  glad  of  the  reprieve,  and  of  one  more  quiet 
evening  alone  with  papa.  They  needed  to  get 
their  ideas  straightened  out  and  put  to  rights, 
after  the  confusions  of  the  day  and  Lilly's  extraor- 
dinary talk.  It  was  very  evident  that  the  Nun- 
nery was  to  be  quite  different  from  their  expec- 
tations; but  another  thing  was  equally  evident, 
—  it  would  not  be  dull !  Rose  Red  by  herself, 
and  without  any  one  to  help  her,  would  be  enough 
to  prevent  that  1 


WHAT   KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOIj. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE       NUNNERY. 

[HE  night  seemed  short;  for  the  girls, 
tired  by  their  journey,  slept  like  dor- 
mice. About  seven  o'clock,  Katy  waa 
roused  by  the  click  of  a  blind,  and,  opening  her 
eyes,  saw  Clover  standing  in  the  window,  and 
peeping  out  through  the  half-opened  shutters. 
When  she  heard  Katy  move,  she  cried  out, — 

"  Oh,  do  come  !  It's  so  interesting  I  I  can  see 
the  colleges  and  the  church,  and,  I  guess,  the 
Nunnery ;  only  I  am  not  quite  sure,  because  the 
houses  are  all  so  much  alike." 

Katy  jumped  up  and  hurried  to  the  window. 
The  hotel  stood  on  one  side  of  a  green  common, 
planted  with  trees.  The  common  had  a  lead-col- 
ored fence,  and  gravel  paths,  which  ran  across  it 
from  corner  to  corner.  Opposite  the  hotel  was  a 


THE  NUNNERY.  65 

long  row  of  red  buildings,  broken  by  one  or  two 
brown  ones,  with  cupolas.  These  were  evidently 
the  colleges,  and  a  large  gray  building  with  a 
spire  was  as  evidently  the  church ;  but  which 
one  of  the  many  white,  green-blinded  houses 
which  filled  the  other  sides  of  the  common,  was 
the  Nunnery,  the  girls  could  not  tell.  Clover 
thought  it  was  one  with  a  garden  at  the  side ;  but 
Katy  thought  not,  because  Lilly  had  said  nothing 
of  a  garden.  They  discussed  the  point  so  long 
that  the  breakfast  bell  took  them  by  surprise,  and 
they  were  forced  to  rush  through  their  dress- 
ing as  fast  as  possible,  so  as  not  to  keep  papa 
waiting. 

When  breakfast  was  over,  Dr.  Carr  told  them 
to  put  on  their  hats,  and  get  ready  to  walk  with 
him  to  the  school.  Clover  took  one  arm,  and  Katy 
the  other,  and  the  three  passed  between  some 
lead-colored  posts,  and  took  one  of  the  diagonal 
paths  which  led  across  the  common. 

"  That's  the  house,"  said  Dr.  Carr,  pointing. 

"  It  isn't  the  one  you  picked  out,  Clover,"  said 
Katy. 

"  No,"  replied  Clover,  a  little  disappointed.    The 


66  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

house  papa  indicated  was  by  no  means  so  pleasaw 
as  the  one  she  had  chosen. 

It  was  a  tall,  narrow  building,  with  doimer  win- 
dows in  the  roof,  and  a  square  porch  supported  by 
whitewashed  pillars.  A  pile  of  trunks  stood  hi 
the  porch.  From  above  came  sounds  of  voices. 
Girls'  heads  were  popped  out  of  upper  windows  at 
the  swinging  of  the  gate,  and,  as  the  door  opened, 
more  heads  appeared  looking  over  the  balusters 
from  the  hall  above. 

The  parlor  into  which  they  were  taken  was  full 
of  heavy,  old-fashioned  furniture,  stiffly  arranged. 
The  sofa  and  chairs  were  covered  with  black 
haircloth,  and  stood  closely  against  the  wall. 
Some  books  lay  upon  the  table,  arranged  two  by 
two;  each  upper  book  being  exactly  at  a  right 
angle  with  each  lower  book.  A  bunch  of  dried 
grasses  stood  in  the  fire-place.  There  were  no 
pictures,  except  one  portrait  in  oils,  of  a  forbidding 
old  gentleman  in  a  wig  and  glasses,  sitting  with 
his  middle  finger  majestically  inserted  in  a  half- 
open  Bible.  Altogether,  it  was  not  a  cheerful 
room,  nor  one  calculated  to  raise  the  spirits  of 
new-comers ;  and  Katy}  whose  long  seclusion  had 


THE  NUNNERY.  67 

made  her  sensitive  on  the  subject  of  rooms, 
shrank  instinctively  nearer  papa  as  they  went  in. 

Two  ladies  rose  to  receive  them.  One,  a  tall 
dignified  person,  was  Mrs.  Florence.  The  other 
she  introduced  as  "my  assistant  principal,  Mrs. 
Nipson."  Mrs.  Nipson  was  not  tall.  She  had 
a  round  face,  pinched  lips,  and  half-shut  gray  eyes. 

"  This  lady  is  fully  associated  with  me  in  the 
management  of  the  school,"  explained  Mrs.  Flor- 
ence. "  When  I  go,  she  will  assume  the  entire 
control." 

"  Is  that  likely  to  be  soon  ?  "  inquired  Dr.  Carr, 
surprised,  and  not  well  pleased  that  the  teacher  of 
whom  he  had  heard,  and  with  whom  he  had  pro- 
posed to  leave  his  children,  was  planning  to  yield 
her  place  to  a  stranger. 

"  The  time  is  not  yet  determined,"  replied  Mrs. 
Florence.  Then  she  changed  the  subject,  grace- 
fully, but  so  decidedly  that  Dr.  Carr  had  no  chance 
for  further  question.  She  spoke  of  classes,  and 
discussed  what  Katy  and  Clover  were  to  study. 
Finally,  she  proposed  to  take  them  upstairs  to  see 
their  room.  Papa  might  come  too,  she  said. 

"  I  dare  say  that  Lilly  Page,  who  tells  me  that 


68  WHAT    KATY   DID    AT   SCHOOL. 

she  is  a  cousin  of  yours,  lias  described  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  house,"  she  remarked  to  Katy.  "  The 
room  I  have  assigned  to  you  is  in  the  back  building. 
4  Quaker  Row,'  the  girls  call  it."  She  smiled  as 
she  spoke ;  and  Katy,  meeting  her  eyes  for  the  first 
time,  felt  that  there  was  something  in  what  Lilly 
had  said.  Mrs.  Florence  was  a  sort  of  queen. 

They  went  upstairs.  Some  girls  who  were 
peeping  over  the  baluster  hurried  away  at  their 
approach.  Mrs.  Florence  shook  her  head  at  them. 

"  The  first  day  is  always  one  of  license,"  she 
said,  leading  the  way  along  an  uncarpeted  entry  to 
a  door  at  the  end,  from  which,  by  a-  couple  of  steps 
they  went  down  into  a  square  room ;  round  three 
sides  of  which,  ran  a  shelf,  on  which  stood  rows  of 
wash-bowls  and  pitchers.  Above  were  hooks  for 
towels.  Katy  perceived  that  this  was  the  much- 
dreaded  wash-room. 

"  Our  lavatory,"  remarked  Mrs.  Florence, 
blandly. 

Opening  from  the  wash-room  was  a  very  long 
hall,  lighted  at  each  end  by  a  window.  The  doors 
on  either  .side  were  numbered  "  one,  two,  three," 
and  so  on.  Some  of  them  were  half  open,  as 


THE   NUNNERY.  69 

they  went  by,  Katy  and  Clover  caught  glimpses 
of  girls  and  trunks,  and  beds  strewed  with  things. 
At  No.  6  Mrs.  Florence  paused. 

"Here  is  the  room  which  I  propose  to  give 
jou,"  she  said. 

Katy  and  Clover  looked  eagerly  about.  It  waa 
A  small  room,  but  the  sun  shone  in  cheerfully  at 
the  window.  There  was  a  maple  bedstead  and 
table,  a  couple  of  chairs,  and  a  row  of  hooks ;  that 
was  all,  except  that  in  the  wall  was  set  a  case  of 
black-handled  drawers,  with  cupboard-doors  above 
them. 

"These  take  the  place  of  a  bureau,  and  hold 
your  clothes,"  explained  Mrs.  Florence,  pulling 
out  one  of  the  drawers.  "  I  hope,  when  once  you 
are  settled,  you  will  find  yourselves  comfortable. 
The  rooms  are  small ;  but  young  people  do  not 
require  so  much  space  as  older  ones.  Though,  in- 
deed, your  elder  daughter,  Dr.  Carr,  looks  more 
advanced  and  grown-up  than  I  was  prepared  to 
find  her.  What  did  you  say  was  her  age  ?  " 

"  She  is  past  sixteen  •  but  she  has  been  so  long 
confined  to  her  ^oom  by  the  illness  of  which  I 
wrote,  that  you  may  probably  find  her  behind 


70  WHAT   KATST   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

hand  in  some  respects,  which  reminds  me  "  (this 
was  very  adroit  of  papa ! )  "  I  am  anxious  that  she 
should  keep  up  the  system  to  which  she  has  been 
accustomed  at  home, — among  other  things,  sponge» 
baths  of  cold  water  every  morning  ;  and,  as  I  see 
that  the  bedrooms  are  not  furnished  with  wash- 
stands,  I  will  ask  your  permission  to  provide  one  for 
the  use  of  my  little  girls.  Perhaps  you  will  kindly 
tell  me  where  I  would  better  look  for  it?  " 

Mrs.  Florence  was  not  pleased,  but  she  could 
not  object ;  so  she  mentioned  a  shop.  Katy'a 
heart  gave  a  bound  of  relief.  She  thought  No.  6, 
with  a  wash-stand,  might  be  very  comfortable.  Itrf 
bareness  and  simplicity  had  the  charm  of  novelty. 
Then  there  was  something  very  interesting  to  her 
in  the  idea  of  a  whole  house  full  of  girls. 

They  did  not  stay  long,  after  seeing  the  room, 
but  went  off  on  a  shopping  excursion.  Shops 
were  few  and  far  between  at  Hillsover  ;  but  they 
found  a  neat  little  maple  wash-stand  and  rocking- 
chair,  and  papa  also  bought  a  comfortable  low 
chair,  with  a  slatted  back  and  a  cushion.  This 
was  for  Katy. 

"Never  study  till  youi  back  aches,"  he   told 


THE   NUNNERY.  71 

her :  "  when  you  are  tired,  lie  flat  on  the  bed  for 
half  an  hour,  and  tell  Mrs.  Florence  that  it  was 
by  my  direction." 

"  Or  Mrs.  Nipson,"  said  Katy,  laughing  rather 
ruefully.  She  had  taken  no  fancy  to  Mrs.  Nipson, 
and  did  not  enjoy  the  idea  of  a  divided  authority. 

A  hurried  lunch  at  the  hotel  followed,  and  then 
it  was  time  for  Dr.  Carr  to  go  away.  They  all 
walked  to  the  school  together,  and  said  good-by 
~*Don  the  steps.  The  girls  would  not  cry,  but 
*hey  clung  very  tightly  to  papa,  and  put  as  much 
feeling  into  their  last  kisses  as  would  have  fur 
nished  forth  half  a  dozen  fits  of  tears.  Lilly  might 
have  thought  them  cold-hearted,  but  papa  did  not ; 
he  knew  better. 

"  That's  my  brave  girls  I  "  he  said.  Then  he 
kissed  them  once  more,  and  hurried  away.  Per- 
haps he  did  not  wish  them  to  see  that  his  eyes 
too  were  a  little  misty. 

As  the  door  closed  behind  them,  Katy  and 
Clover  realized  that  they  were  alone  among 
strangers.  The  sensation  was  not  pleasant;  and 
they  felt  forlorn,  as  they  went  upstairs,  and  dowr 
Quaker  Row,  toward  No.  6. 


72  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

44  Aha !  so  you're  going  to  be  next  door,"  said 
a  gay  voice,  as  they  passed  No.  5,  and  Rose  Red 
popped  her  bead  into  the  hall.  "  Well,  I'm  glad," 
she  went  on,  shaking  hands  cordially ;  "  I  sort 
of  thought  you  would,  and  yet  I  didn't  know  ; 
and  there  are  some  awful,  stiffies  among  the  new 
girls.  How  do  you  both  do  ?• " 

44  Oh  I  are  we  next  door  to  you?  "  cried  Clover, 
brightening. 

44  Yes.  It's  rather  good  of  me  not  to  hate  you  ; 
for  I  wanted  the  end  room  myself,  and  Mrs.  Flor- 
ence wouldn't  give  it  to  me.  Come  in,  and  let  me 
introduce  you  to  my  room-mate.  It's  against  the 
rules,  but  that's  no  matter :  nobody  pretends  to 
keep  rules  the  first  day." 

They  went  in.  No.  5  was  precisely  like  No.  6, 
in  shape,  size,  and  furniture ;  but  Rose  had  un- 
packed her  trunk,  and  decorated  the  room  with 
odds  and  ends  of  all  sorts.  The  table  was  covered 
with  books  and  boxes;  colored  lithographs  were 
pinned  on  the  walls ;  a  huge  blue  rosette  orna- 
mented the  head-board  of  the  bed;  the  blinds 
were  tied  together  with  pink  ribbon ;  over  the  top 
of  the  window  was  a  festoon  of  hemlock  boughs, 


THE  NUNNERY.  7  ft 

fresh  and  spicy.  The  effect  was  fantastic,  bu* 
cheery ;  and  Katy  and  Clover  exclaimed,  with  one 
voice,  "  How  pretty !  " 

The  room-mate  was  a  pale,  shy  girl,  with  a  half- 
scared  look  in  her  eyes,  and  small  hands  which 
twisted  uneasily  together  when  she  moved  and 
spoke.  Her  name  was  Mary  Silver.  She  and 
Rose  were  so  utterly  unlike,  that  Katy  thought  it 
odd  they  should  have  chosen  to  be  together. 
Afterward  she  understood  it  better.  Rose  liked  to 
protect,  and  Mary  to  be  protected  ;  Rose  to  talk, 
and  Mary  to  listen.  Mary  evidently  considered 
Rose  the  most  entertaining  creature  in  the  world ; 
she  giggled  violently  at  all  her  jokes,  and  then 
stopped  short  and  covered  her  mouth  with  hei 
fingers,  in  a  frightened  way,  as  if  giggling  were 
wrong. 

"  Only  think,  Mary,"  began  Rose,  after  intro- 
ducing Katy  and  Clover,  "  these  young  ladies 
have  got  the  end  room.  What  do  you  suppose 
was  the  reason  that  Mrs.  Florence  did  not  give 
it  to  us  ?  It's  very  peculiar." 

Mary  laughed  her  uneasy  laugh.     She  looked  as 
if  she  could  tell  the  reason,  but  did  not  dare. 
4 


T4  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL 

"  Neve*r  mind,"  continued  Rose.  "  Trials  ate 
good  for  one,  they  say.  It's  something  tc  have 
nice  people  in  that  room,  if  we  can't  be  there 
ourselves.  You  are  nice,  aren't  you?"  turning 
to  Clover. 

44  Very,"  replied  Clover,  laughing. 

"  I  thought  so.  I  can  almost  always  tell  without 
asking  ;  still,  it  is  something  to  have  it  on  the  best 
authority.  We'll  be  good  neighbors,  won't  we  ? 
Look  here ! "  and  she  pulled  one  of  the  black- 
handled  drawers  completely  out  and  laid  it  on  the 
bed.  "  Do  you  see  ?  your  drawers  are  exactly 
behind  ours.  Any  time  in  silent  study  hour,  if 
I  have  something  I  want  to  say,  I'll  just  rap 
and  pop  a  note  into  your  drawer,  and  you  can  do 
the  same  to  me.  Isn't  it  fun  ?  " 

Clover  said,  "  Yes ; "  but  Katy,  though  she 
laughed,  shook  her  hear1. 

44  Don't  entice  us  into  mischief,"  she  said. 

44  Oh,  gracious  1  "  exclaimed  Rose.  44  Now,  are 
you  going  to  be  good, — you  two?  If  you  are, 
just  break  the  news  at  once,  and  have  it  over.  7 
can  bear  it."  She  fanned  herself  in  such  a  comical 
way  that  no  one  could  help  laughing.  Mary  Silver 


THE  NUNNERY.  76 

joined,  but  stopped  pretty  soon  in  her  sudden 
manner. 

"  There's  Mary,  now,"  went  on  Rose :  "  she'8 
named  Silver,  but  she's  as  good  as  gold.  She's  a 
Paragon.  It's  quite  a  trial  to  me,  rooming  with 
a  Paragon.  But,  if  any  more  are  coming  into  the 
entry,  just  give  me  fair  notice,  and  I  pack  and 
move  up  among  the  sinners  in  Attic  Row.  Some- 
how, you  don't  look  like  Paragons  either, — you 
especially,"  nodding  to  Clover.  "  Your  eyes  are 
like  violets ;  but  so  are  Sylvia's,  —  that's  my  sister, 
—  and  she's  the  greatest  witch  in  Massachusetts. 
Eyes  are  dreadfully  deceitful  things.  As  for 
you,"  —  to  Katy,  —  "  you're  so  tall  that  I  can't 
take  you  all  in  at  once ;  but  the  piece  I  see 
doesn't  look  dreadful  a  bit." 

Rose  was  sitting  in  the  window  as  she  made 
these  remarks ;  and,  leaning  forward  suddenly,  she 
gave  a  pretty,  blushing  nod  to  some  one  below. 
Katy  glanced  down,  and  saw  a  handsome  young 
man  replacing  the  cap  he  had  lifted  from  his 
head. 

"  That's  Berry  Searles,"  said  Rose.  "  He's  the 
president's  son,  you  know.  He  always  cornea 


T6  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

through  the  side  yard  to  get  to  his  room.  That's 
it,  —  the  one  with  the  red  curtain.  It's  exactly 
opposite  your  window :  don't  you  see  ?  " 

"  So  it  is !  "  exclaimed  Katy,  remembering  what 
Lilly  had  said.  "  Oh  !  was  that  the  reason  ?  "  — 
she  stopped,  afraid  of  being  rude. 

"  The  reason  we  wanted  the  room  ?  "  inquired 
Rose,  coolly.  "  Well,  I  don't  know.  It  hadn't 
occurred  to  me  to  look  at  it  in  that  light.  Mary  I  " 
with  sudden  severity,  "  is  it  possible  that  you  had 
Berry  Searles  in  your  mind  when  you  were  so 
pertinacious  about  that  room  ?  " 

"  Rose !  How  can  you  ?  You  know  I  never 
thought  of  such  thing,"  protested  poor  Mary. 

"  I  hope  not ;  otherwise  I  should  feel  it  my 
duty  to  consult  with  Mrs.  Florence  on  the  sub- 
ject," went  on  Rose,  with  an  air  of  dignified 
admonition.  "I  consider  myself  responsible  for 
you  and  your  morals,  Mary.  Let  us  change  this 
painful  subject."  She  looked  gravely  at  the  three 
gills  for  a  moment;  then  her  lips  began  to  twitch, 
the  irresistible  dimples  appeared  in  her  cheeks, 
and,  throwing  herself  back  in  her  chair,  she  burst 
into  a  fit  of  laughter. 


THE  NUNNERY.  77 

*'  O  Mary,  you  blessed  goose  I  Some  day  or 
other  you'll  be  the  death  of  me  I  Dear,  dear  1 
how  I  am  behaving !  It's  perfectly  horrid  of  me. 
And  I  didn't  mean  it.  I'm  going  to  be  real  good 
this  term  ;  I  promised  mother.  Please  forget  it, 
and  don't  take  a  dislike  to  me,  and  never  come 
again,"  she  added,  coaxingly,  as  Katy  and  Clover 
rose  to  go. 

"  Indeed  we  won't,"  replied  Katy.  As  for  sen- 
sible Clover,  she  was  already  desperately  in  love 
with  Rose,  on  that  very  first  day ! 

After  a  couple  of  hours  of  hard  work,  No.  6 
was  in  order,  and  looked  like  a  different  place. 
Fringed  towels  were  laid  over  the  wash-stand  and 
the  table.  Dr.  Carr's  photograph  and  some  pretty 
chromos  ornamented  the  walls ;  the  rocking-chair 
and  the  study-chair  stood  by  the  window  ;  the 
trunks  were  hidden  by  chintz  covers,  made  for 
the  purpose  by  old  Mary.  On  the  window-sill  stood 
Cousin  Helen's  vase,  which  Katy  had  broi^ght 
carefully  packed  among  her  clothes. 

"  Now,"  she  said,  tying  the  blinds  together 
with  a  knot  of  ribbon  in  imitation  of  Rose  Red's, 
"  when  we  get  a  bunch  of  wild  flowers  for  my 
vase,  we  shall  be  all  right." 


78  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

A  tap  at  the  door.     Rose  entered. 

"  Are  you  done  ?  "  she  asked ;  "  may  I  come  in 
and  see  ? 

"  Oh,  this  is  pretty ! "  she  exclaimed,  looking 
about :  "  how  you  can  tell  in  one  minute  what  soit 
of  a  girl  one  is,  just  by  looking  at  her  room  I  I 
should  know  you  had  been  neat  and  dainty  and 
housekeepery  all  your  days.  And  you  would  see  in 
a  minute  that  I'm  a  Madge  Wildfire,  and  that  Ellen 
Gray  is  a  saint,  and  Sally  Satterlee  a  scatterbrain, 
and  Lilly  Page  an  affected  little  hum  —  oh,  I  for- 
got I  she  is  your  cousin,  isn't  she  ?  How  dreadfully 
rude  of  me ! "  dimpling  at  Clover,  who  couldn't 
help  dimpling  back  again. 

"  Oh,  my !  "  she  went  on,  "  a  wash-stand,  I  de- 
clare !  Where  did  you  get  it  ?  " 

"  Papa  bought  it,"  explained  Katy:  uhe  asked 
Mrs.  Florence's  permission." 

"  How  bright  of  him  !  I  shall  just  write  to  my 
father  to  ask  for  permission  too."  Which  she 
did ;  and  the  result  was  that  it  set  the  fashion  of 
wash-stands,  and  so  many  papas  wrote  to  "  ask  per- 
mission," that  Mrs.  Florence  found  it  necessary  to 
give  up  the  lavatory  system,  and  provide  wash* 


THE   NUNNERY.  79 

stands  for  the  whole  house.  Katy's  request  had 
been  the  opening  wedge.  I  do  not  tliink  this  fact 
made  her  more  popular  with  the  principals. 

"By  the  way,  where  is  Lilly?"  asked  Katy: 
"I  haven't  seen  her  to-day." 

"  Do  you  want  to  know  ?  I  can  tell  you.  She's 
sitting  on  the  edge  of  one  chair,  with  her  feet  on 
the  rung  of  another  chair,  and  her  head  on  tho 
shoulder  of  her  room-mate  (who  is  dying  to 
get  away  and  arrange  her  drawers)  ;  and  she's 
crying  "  — 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  Have  you  been  up  to  see 
her?" 

"  Oh !  I  haven't  seen  her.  It  isn't  necessary.  I 
saw  her  last  term,  and  the  term  before.  She 
always  spends  the  first  day  at  school  in  that  way. 
I'll  take  you  up,  if  you'd  like  to  examine  for  your- 
selves." 

Katy  and  Clover,  much  amused,  followed  as  sne 
led  the  way  upstairs.  Sure  enough,  Lilly  was  sit- 
ting exactly  as  Rose  had  predicted.  Her  face  was 
nwollen  with  crying.  When  she  saw  the  girls,  her 
sobs  redoubled. 

"Oh!  isn't  it  dreadful?"  she  demanded.     "I 


80  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

shall  die,  I  know  I  shall.  Oh  I  why  did  pa  make 
ine  come?" 

"Now,  Lilly,  don't  be  an  idiot,"  said  the  un- 
nympathizing  Rose.  Then  she  sat  down  and  pro- 
ceeded to  make  a  series  of  the  most  grotesque 
faces,  winking  her  eyes  and  twinkling  her  fingers 
round  the  head  of  "  Niobe,"  as  she  called  Lilly,  till 
the  other  girls  were  in  fits  of  laughter,  and  Niobe, 
though  she  shrugged  her  shoulders  pettishly  and 
said,  "Don't  be  so  ridiculous,  Rose  Red,"  was 
forced  to  give  way.  First  she  smiled,  then  a  laugh 
was  heard;  afterward  she  announced  that  she 
felt  better. 

"  That's  right,  Niobe,"  said  Rose.  "  Wash  your 
face  now,  and  get  ready  for  tea,  for  the  bell  is  just 
going  to  ring.  As  for  you,  Annie,  you  might  as 
well  put  your  drawers  in  order,"  with  a  wicked 
wink.  Annie  hurried  away  with  a  laugh,  which 
she  tried  in  vain  to  hide. 

41  You  heartless  creature  I "  cried  the  exasperated 
Lilly.  "  I  believe  you're  made  of  marble ;  you 
haven't  one  bit  of  feeling.  Nor  you  either,  Katy. 
You  haven't  cried  a  drop." 

"  Given  this  problem,"  said  the  provoking  Rose ' 


THE  NUNNERY.  .  81 

44  when  the  nose  without  is  as  red  as  a  lobster, 
what  must  be  the  temperature  of  the  heart  within, 
and  vice  versa?" 

The  tea-bell  rang  just  in  time  to  avert  a  fresh 
flood  of  tears  from  Lilly.  She  brushed  her  hair  in 
angry  haste,  and  they  all  hurried  down  by  a  side 
staircase  which,  as  Rose  explained,  the  school-girls 
were  expected  to  use.  The  dining-room  was  not 
large ;  only  part  of  the  girls  could  be  seated  at  a 
time  ;  so  they  took  turns  at  dining  at  the  first  table, 
half  one  week  and  half  the  next. 

Mi*s.  Nipson  sat  at  the  tea-tray,  with  Mrs.  Flor- 
ence beside  her.  At  the  other  end  of  the  long  board 
sat  a  severe-looking  person,  whom  Lilly  announced 
in  a  whisper  as  "  that  horrid  Miss  Jane."  The 
meal  was  very  simple,  —  tea,  bread  and  butter,  and 
dried  beef :  —  it  was  eaten  in  silence ;  the  girls  were 
not  allowed  to  speak,  except  to  ask  for  what 
they  wanted.  Rose  Red  indeed,  who  sat  next  to 
Mrs.  Florence,  talked  to  her,  and  even  ventured 
once  or  twice  on  daring  little  jokes,  which  caused 
Clover  to  regard  her  with  admiring  astonishment. 
No  one  else  said  any  thing,  except "  Butter,  please," 
or  "  Pass  the  bread."  As  they  filed  upstairs  after 


82  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

this  cheerless  meal,  they  were  met  by  rows  of 
hungry  girls,  who  were  waiting  to  go  down,  and 
who  whispered,  "  How  long  you  have  been  I 
What's  for  tea?" 

The  evening  passed  in  making  up  classes  and 
arranging  for  recitation-rooms  and  study-hours. 
Katy  was  glad  when  bed- time  came.  The  day, 
with  all  its  new  impressions  and  strange  faces, 
seemed  to  her  like  a  confused  dream.  She  and 
Clover  undressed  very  quietly.  Among  the 
printed  rules,  which  hung  on  the  bedroom  door, 
they  read :  "  All  communication  between  room- 
mates, after  the  retiring  bell  has  rung,  is  strictly 
prohibited."  Just  then  it  did  not  seem  difficult 
to  keep  this  rule.  It  was  only  after  the  candle 
was  blown  out,  that  Clover  ventured  to  whisper, — 
very  low  indeed,  for  who  knew  but  Miss  Jane  was 
listening  outside  the  door? — "Do  you  think  you're 
going  to  like  it  ?  "  and  Katy,  in  the  same  cautious 
whisper,  responded,  "  I'm  not  quite  sure."  And 
so  ended  the  first  day  at  the  Nunnery. 


ROSES   AND   THORNS.  88 


CHAPTER  V. 

ROSES   AND   THORNS. 

|H  !  what  is  it  ?  What  has  happened  ?  " 
cried  Clover,  starting  up  in  bed,  the 
next  morning,  as  a  clanging  sound 
roused  her  suddenly  from  sleep.  It  was  only 
the  rising-bell,  ringing  at  the  end  of  Quakei 
Row. 

Katy  held  her  watch  up  to  the  dim  light.  She 
could  just  see  the  hands.  Yes:  they  pointed  to 
six.  It  was  actually  morning!  She  and  Clover 
jumped  up,  and  began  to  dress  as  fast  as  possi- 
ble. 

"We've  only  got  half  an  hour,"  said  Clover, 
unhooking  the  rules,  and  carrying  them  to  the 
window,  —  "  half  an  hour ;  and  this  says  that  we 
must  turn  the  mattress,  smooth  the  under-sheet 
over  the  bolster,  and  spend  five  minu  tes  in  silent 


84  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOi,. 

devotion !  We'll  have  to  be  quick  to  do  all  that, 
besides  dressing  ourselves !  " 

It  is  never  easy  to  be  quick,  when  one  is  in  a 
hurry.  Every  thing  sets  itself  against  you.  Fin- 
gers turn  into  thumbs;  dresses  won't  button, 
nor  pins  keep  their  place.  With  all  their 
haste,  Katy  and  Clover  were  barely  ready  when 
the  second  bell  sounded.  As  they  hastened  down- 
stairs, Katy  fastening  her  breast-pin,  and  Clover 
her  cuffs,  they  met  other  girls,  some  looking  half 
asleep,  some  half  dressed;  all  yawning,  rubbing 
their  eyes,  and  complaining  of  the  early  hour. 

"  Isn't  it  horrid?  "  said  Lilly  Page,  hurrying  by 
with  no  collar  on,  and  her  hair  hastily  tucked  into 
a  net.  "  I  never  get  up  till  nine  o'clock  when  I'm 
at  home.  Ma  saves  my  breakfast  for  me.  She 
says  I  shall  have  my  sleep  out  while  I  have  the 
chance." 

"  You  don't  look  quite  awake  now,"  remarked 
Clover. 

"  No,  because  I  haven't  washed  my  face.  Halt 
the  time  I  don't,  before  breakfast.  There's  that 
old  mattress  has  to  be  turned ;  and,  when  I  sleep 
over,  I  just  do  that  first,  and  then  scramble  my 


KOSES    AND   THORN8.  Sb 

clothes  on  the  best  way  I  can.  Any  thing  not  to 
be  marked  I " 

After  prayers  and  breakfast  were  done,  the  girls 
had  half  an  hour  for  putting  their  bedrooms  to 
rights,  during  which  interval  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  Lilly  found  time  to  wash  her  face.  After 
that,  lessons  began,  and  lasted  till  one  o'clock. 
Dinner  followed,  with  an  hour's  "  recreation ; " 
then  the  bell  rang  for  "  silent  study  hour,"  when 
the  girls  sat  with  their  books  in  their  bedrooms, 
but  were  not  allowed  to  speak  to  each  other. 
Next  came  a  walk. 

"Who  are  you  going  to  walk  with?"  asked 
Rose  Red,  meeting  Clover  in  Quaker  Row. 

"  I  don't  know.     Katy,  I  guess." 

"  Are  you  really  ?  You  and  she  like  eacto 
other,  don't  you  ?  Do  you  know,  you're  the  first 
sisters  I  ever  knew  at  school  who  did !  Generally, 
they  quarrel  awfully.  The  Stearns  girls,  who 
were  here  last  term,  scarcely  spoke  to  each  other. 
They  didn't  even  room  together;  and  Sarah 
Stearns  was  always  telling  tales  against  Sue,  and 
Sue  against  Sarah." 

44  How  disgusting  I     I  never  heard  of  any  fcniixg 


86  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

BO  mean,"  cried  Clover,  indignantly.  "Why,  1 
wouldn't  tell  tales  about  Katy  if  we  quarrelled 
ever  so  much.  We  never  do,  though,  Katy  is  so 
sweet." 

"  I  suppose  she  is,"  said  Rose,  rather  doubtfully ; 
"  but,  do  you  know,  I'm  sort  of  afraid  of  her.  It's 
because  she's  so  tall.  Tall  people  always  scare 
me.  And  then  she  looks  so  grave  and  grown  up  I 
Don't  tell  her  I  said  so,  though ;  for  I  want  her 
to  like  me." 

"  Oh,  she  isn't  a  bit  grave  or  grown  up.  She's 
the  funniest  girl  in  the  world.  Wait  till  you  know 
her,"  replied  loyal  Clover. 

"I'd  give  any  thing  if  I  could  walk  with  you 
part  of  this  term,"  went  on  Rose,  putting  her  arm 
round  Clover's  waist.  "  But  you  see,  unluckily, 
I'm  engaged  straight  through.  All  of  us  old  girls 
are.  I  walk  with  May  Mather  this  week  and 
next,  then  Esther  Dearborn  for  a  month,  then 
Lilly  Page  for  two  weeks,  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
time  with  Mary.  I  can't  think  why  I  promised 
Lilly.  I'm  sure  I  don't  want  to  go  with  her. 
I'd  ask  Mary  to  let  me  off,  only  I'm  afraid 
she'd  feel  bad.  I  say,  suppose  we  engage 


ROSES   AND   THORNS.  87 

to  walk  with  each  other  for  the  first  half  of  next 
term." 

"  Why,  that's  not  till  October  ! ''  said  Clover. 

"  1  know  it ;  but  it's  nice  to  be  beforehand- 
Will  you?" 

"  Of  course  I  will ;  provided  that  Katy  has 
somebody  pleasant  to  go  with,"  replied  Clover, 
immensely  flattered  at  being  asked  by  the  popular 
Rose.  Then  they  ran  downstairs,  and  took  their 
places  in  the  long  procession  of  girls,  who  were 
ranged  two  and  two,  ready  to  start.  Miss  Jane 
walked  at  the  head  ;  and  Miss  Marsh,  another 
teacher,  brought  up  the  rear.  Rose  Red  whispered 
that  it  was  like  a  funeral  and  a  caravan  mixed,  — 
"  as  cheerful  as  hearses  at  both  ends,  and  wild 
beasts  in  the  middle." 

The  walk  was  along  a  wooded  road ;  a  mile  out 
and  a  mile  back.  The  procession  was  not  per- 
mitted to  stop  or  straggle,  or  take  any  of  the  lib- 
erties which  make  walking  pleasant.  Still,  Katy 
and  Clover  enjoyed  it.  There  was  a  spring  smell 
in  the  air,  and  the  woods  were  beginning  to  be 
pretty.  They  even  found  a  little  trailing  arbutus 
blossoming  in  a  sunny  hollow.  Lilly  was  just  in 


88  WHAT  KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

front  of  them,  and  amused  them  with  histories  of 
different  girls,  whom  she  pointed  out  in  the  long 
line.  That  was  Esther  Dearborn, ' —  Rose  Red's 
friend.  Handsome,  wasn't  she  ?  but  awfully  sar- 
castic. The  two  next  were  Amy  Alsop  and  Ellen 
Gray,  They  always  walked  together,  because 
they  were  so  intimate.  Yes ;  they  were  nice 
enough,  only  so  distressingly  good.  Amy  did  not 
get  one  single  mark  last  term  .1  That  child  with 
pig-tails  was  Bella  Arkwright.  Why  on  earth 
did  Katy  want  to  know  about  her?  She  was  a 
nasty  little  thing. 

"  She's  just  about  Elsie's  height,"  replied  Katy. 
"  Who's  that  pretty  girl  with  pink  velvet  on  her 
hat?" 

"  Dear  me  I  Do  you  think  she's  pretty  ?  I 
don't.  Her  name  is  Louisa  Agnew.  She  lives  at 
Ashburn,  —  quite  near  us ;  but  we  don't  know 
them.  Her  family  are  not  at  all  in  good  so- 
ciety." 

"  What  a  pity  I     She  looks  so  sweet  and  lady 
like." 

Lilly  tossed  her  head.  "  They're  quite  com- 
mon people,"  she  said.  "They  live  in  a  little 


HOSES   AND   THORNS.  8ft 

tnlte  of  a  house,  and  her  father  paints  por- 
traits." 

"  But  I  should  think  that  would  be  nice. 
Doesn't  she  ever  take  you  to  see  his  pictures  ?  " 

"  Take  me ! "  cried  Lilly,  indignantly.  "  I 
should  think  not.  I  tell  you  we  don't  visit.  1 
just  speak  when  we're  here,  but  I  never  see  her 
when  I'm  at  home." 

"  Move  on,  young  ladies.  What  are  you  stop* 
ping  for  ?  "  cried  Miss  Jane. 

"  Yes ;  move  on,"  muttered  Rose  Red,  from 
behind.  "  Don't  you  hear  Policeman  X?" 

From  walking-hour  till  tea-time  was  "  recrea- 
tion" again.  Lilly  improved  this  opportunity  to 
call  at  No.  6.  She  had  waited  to  see  how  the 
girls  were  likely  to  take  in  the  school  before 
committing  herself  to  intimacy ;  but,  now  that 
Rose  Red  had  declared  in  their  favor,  she  was 
ready  to  begin  to  be  friendly. 

"  How  lovely  I "  she  said,  looking  about.  "  You 
got  the  end  room,  after  all,  didn't  you?  What 
splendid  times  you'll  have  !  Oh,  how  plainly  you 
can  see  Berry  Searles's  window  !  Has  he  spoken 
to  you  yet  ?  " 


90  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL* 

"Spoken  to  us, —  of  course  not!  Why  should 
he  ? "  replied  Katy :  "  he  doesn't  know  us,  and 
we  don't  know  him." 

"  That's  nothing :  half  the  girls  in  the  school 
bow,  and  speak,  arid  carry  on  with  young  men 
they  don't  know.  You  won't  have  a  bit  of  fun 
if  you're  so  particular." 

"  I  don't  want  that  kind  of  fun,"  replied  Katy, 
with  energy  in  her  voice;  "  neither  does  Clover. 
And  I  can't  imagine  how  the  girls  can  behave  so. 
It  isn't  lady-like  at  all." 

Katy  was  very  fond  of  this  word,  lady-like.  She 
always  laid  great  stress  upon  it.  It  seemed  in 
some  way  to  be  connected  with  Cousin  Helen,  and 
to  mean  every  thing  that  was  good,  ana  graceful, 
and  sweet. 

"  Dear  me  1  I'd  no  idea  you  were  so  dreadfully 
proper,"  said  Lilly,  pouting.  "Mother  said 
you  were  as  prim  and  precise  as  your  grand- 
mother ;  but  I  didn't  suppose  "  — 

"  How  unkind  1  "  broke  in  Clover,  taking  fire, 
as  usual,  at  any  affront  to  Katy.  "  Katy  prim  and 
precise  I  She  isn't  a  bit  I  She's  twice  as  much 
fun  as  the  rest  of  you  girls  ;  but  it's  nice  fun,  — 


EOSES  AND  THORNS.  Dl 

not  this  horrid  stuff  about  students.  -  wish  youi 
mother  wouldn't  say  such  things." 

"I  didn't  —  she  didn't  —  I  don't  mean  exactly 
that,"  stammered  Lilly,  frightened  by  Clover's  in- 
dignant eyes.  "  All  I  meant  was,  that  Katy  is 
dreadfully  dignified  for  her  age,  and  we  bad  gills 
will  have  to  look  out.  You  needn't  be  so  mad, 
Clover ;  I'm  sure  it's  very  nice  to  be  proper  and 
good,  and  set  an  example." 

"I  don't  want  to  preach  to  anybody,"  said 
Katy,  coloring,  "  and  I  wasn't  thinking  about 
examples.  But  really  and  truly,  Lilly,  wouldn't 
your  mother,  and  all  the  girls'  mothers,  be  shocked 
if  they  knew  about  these  performances  here  ?  " 

"Gracious!  I  should  think  so;  ma  would  kill 
me.  I  wouldn't  have  her  know  of  my  goings  on 
for  all  the  world." 

Just  then  Rose  pulled  out  a  drawer,  and  called 
through  to  ask  if  Clover  would  please  come  in  and 
help  her  a  minute.  Lilly  took  advantage  of  her 
absence  to  say, — 

"  I  came  on  purpose  to  ask  you  to  walk  with  me 
for  four  weeks.  Will  you  ?  " 

"  Thank  you  ;  but  I'm  engaged  to  (/lover." 


92  WHAT   KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

"  To  Clover !  But  she's  your  sister ;  you  can 
get  off." 

"  I  don't  want  to  get  off.  Clover  and  I  like 
dearly  to  go  together." 

Lilly  stared.  "  Well,  I  never  heard  of  such  a 
thing,"  she  said  ;  "  you're  really  romantic.  Tht 
girls  will  call  you  '  The  Inseparables.'  " 

"I  wouldn't  mind  being  inseparable  from  Clo- 
ver," said  Katy,  laughing. 

Next  day  was  Saturday.  It  was  nominally  a 
holiday ;  but  so  many  tasks  were  set  for  it,  that  it 
hardly  seemed  like  one.  The  girls  had  to  practise 
in  the  gymnasium,  to  do  their  mending,  and  have 
all  their  drawers  in  apple-pie  order,  before  after- 
noon, when  Miss  Jane  went  through  the  rooms  on 
a  tour  of  inspection.  Saturday,  also,  was  the  day 
for  writing  home  letters ;  so,  altogether,  it  waa 
about  the  busiest  of  the  week. 

Early  in  the  morning  Miss  Jane  appeared  in 
Quaker  Row  with  some  slips  of  paper  in  her  hand, 
one  of  which  she  left  at  each  door.  They  told  the 
hours  at  which  the  girls  were  to  go  to  the  bath- 
house. 

44  You  will  carry,  each,  a  crash  towel,  a  sponge, 


HOSES   AND   THORNS.  93 

and  soap,"  she  announced  to  Katy,  *4  and  will  be 
in  the  entry,  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  at  twenty- 
five  minutes  after  nine  precisely.  Failures  in 
punctuality  will  be  punished  by  a  mark."  Miss 
Jane  always  delivered  her  words  like  a  machine, 
and  closed  her  mouth  with  a  snap  at  the  end  of 
the  sentence. 

44  Horrid  thing !  Don't  I  wish  her  missionary 
would  come  and  carry  her  off.  Not  that  I  blame 
him  for  staying  away,"  remarked  Rose  Red,  from 
her  door;  making  a  face  at  Miss  Jane,  as  she 
walked  down  the  entry. 

"I  don't  understand  about  the  bath-house," 
said  Katy.  "  Does  it  belong  to  us  ?  And  where 
is  it?" 

44  No,  it  doesn't  belong  to  us.  It  belongs  to  Mr. 
Pen-it,  and  anybody  can  use  it ;  only  on  Saturday 
it  is  reserved  for  us  nuns.  Haven't  you  ever 
noticed  it  when  we  have  been  out  walking? 
It's  in  that  street  by  the  bakery,  which  we  pass 
to  take  the  Lebanon  road.  We  go  across  the 
green,  and  down  by  Professor  Seccomb's,  and 
we  are  in  plain  sight  from  the  college  all  the  way ; 
and,  of  course,  those  abominable  boys  sit  there 


94  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

with  spy-glasses,  and  stare  as  hard  as  ever  they 
can.  It's  perfectly  horiid.  '  A  crash  towel,  a 
sponge,  and  soap,'  indeed !  I  wish  I  could  make 
Miss  Jane  eat  the  pieces  of  soap  which  she  has 
forced  me  to  carry  across  this  village." 

"  O  Rose  1 "  remonstrated  Mary  Silver. 

"  Well,  I  do.  And  the  crash  towels  afterward, 
by  way  of  a  dessert,"  replied  the  incorrigible  Rose. 
"  Never  mind  !  Just  wait !  A  bright  idea  strikes 
me!" 

"  Oh !  what?  "  cried  the  other  three ;  but  Rose 
only  pursed  up  her  mouth,  arched  her  eyebrows, 
and  vanished  into  her  own  room,  locking  thb  door 
behind  her.  Mary  Silver,  finding  herself  shut 
out,  sat  down  meekly  in  the  hall  till  such  time  as 
it  should  please  Rose  to  open  the  door.  This 
was  not  till  the  bath  hour.  As  Katy  and  Clover 
went  by,  Rose  put  her  head  out,  and  called  that 
she  would  be  down  in  a  minute. 

The  bathing  party  consisted  of  eight  girls,  witli 
Miss  Jane  for  escort.  They  were  half  way  across 
the  common  before  Miss  Jane  noticed  that  every- 
body was  shaking  with  stifled  laughter,  except 
Rose,  who  walked  along  denmrely,  apparently 


EOSES   AND   THORNS.  95 

unconscious  that  there  was  any  thing  to  laugh 
at.  Miss  Jane  looked  sharply  from  one  to 
another  for  a  moment,  then  stopped  short  and 
exclaimed,  "  Rosamond  Redding  I  how  dare 
you?" 

"  What  is  it,  ma'am  ? "  asked  Rose,  with  the 
face  of  a  lamb. 

"  Your  bath  towel  1  your  sponge  I  "  gasped  Misa 
Jane. 

"  Yes,  ma'am,  I  have  them  all,"  replied  the 
audacious  Rose,  putting  her  hand  to  her  hat. 
There,  to  be  sure,  was  the  long  crash  towel,  hang- 
ing down  behind  like  a  veil,  while  the  sponge  was 
fastened  on  one  side  like  a  great  cockade  ;  and  in 
front  appeared  a  cake  of  pink  soap,  neatly  pinned 
into  the  middle  of  a  black  velvet  bow. 

Miss  Jane  seized  Rose,  and  removed  these 
ornamsnts  in  a  twinkling.  "  We  shall  see  what 
Mrs.  Florence  thinks  of  this  conduct,"  she 
grimly  remarked.  Then,  dropping  the  soap  and 
sponge  in  her  own  pocket,  she  made  Rose 
walk  beside  her,  as  if  she  were  a  criminal  in 
custody. 

The  bath-house  was  a  neat  place,  with  eight 


WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

small  rooms,  well  supplied  with  hot  and  cold 
water.  Katy  would  have  found  her  bath  very 
nice,  had  it  not  been  for  the  thought  of  the  walk 
home.  They  must  look  so  absurd,  she  reflected, 
with  their  sponges  and  damp  towels. 

Miss  Jane  was  as  good  as  her  word.  After 
dinner,  Rose  was  sent  for  by  Mrs.  Florence,  and 
had  an  interview  of  two  hours  with  her:  she 
came  out  with  red  eyes,  and  shut  herself  into 
her  room  with  a  disconsolate  bang.  Before  long, 
however,  she  revived  sufficiently  to  tap  on  the 
drawers  and  push  through  a  note  with  the  fol- 
lowing words:  — 

"  My  heart  is  broken  I 

"  R.  R." 

Clover  hastened  in  to  comfort  her.  Rose  was 
sitting  on  the  floor,  with  a  very  clean  pocket-hand- 
kerchief in  her  hand.  She  wept,  and  put  her  head 
against  Clover's  knee. 

"  I  suppose  I'm  the  nastiest  girl  in  the  world," 
she  said.  "Mrs.  Florence  thinks  so.  She  said 
I  was  an  evil  influence  in  the  school.  Wasn't 
that  un  —  kind?"  with  a  little  sob. 


KOSES   AND  THORNS.  97 

"  I  meant  to  be  so  good  this  term,"  she  went 
on ;  "  but  what's  the  use  ?  A  codfish  might  aa 
well  try  to  play  the  piano!  It  was  always  so, 
even  when  I  was  a  baby.  Sylvia  says  I  have  got 
a  little  fiend  inside  of  me.  Do  you  believe  I 
have  ?  Is  it  that  makes  me  so  horrid  ?  " 

Clover  purred  over  her.  She  could  not  bear 
to  have  Rose  feel  badly.  "Wasn't  Miss  Jane 
funny?"  went  on  Rose,  with  a  sudden  twin- 
kle ;  "  and  did  you  see  Berry,  and  Alfred  Sec- 
comb?" 

"  No :  where  were  they  ?  " 

"Close  to  us,  standing  by  the  fence.  All  the 
time  Miss  Jane  was  unpinning  the  towel,  they 
were  splitting  their  sides,  and  Berry  made  such  a 
face  at  me  that  I  nearly  laughed  out.  That  boy 
has  a  perfect  genius  for  faces.  He  used  to  frighten 
Sylvia  and  me  into  fits,  when  we  were  little  tots, 
up  here  on  visits." 

u  Then  you  knew  him  before  you  came  to 
school?1' 

"  Oh  dear,  yes !  I  know  all  the  Hillsover  boys. 
We  used  to  make  mud  pies  together.  They're 
grown  up  now,  most  of  'em,  and  in  college ;  and 


98  WHAT   KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL,. 

when   we   meet,   we're   very   dignified,   and  say 
'  Miss   Redding,'   and   4  Mr.   Seccomb,'  and  '  Mi 
Searles ; '    but    we're    just    as    good    friends    as 
ever.     When  I  go  to  take  tea  with  Mrs.  Seccomb, 
Alfred  always  invites  Berry  to  drop  in,  and  we 
have  the  greatest  fun.     Mrs.  Florence  won't  let 
me  go  this  term,  though,  I  guess,  she's  so  mad 
about  the  towel." 

Katy  was  quite  relieved  when  Clover  reported 
this  conversation.  Rose,  for  all  her  wickedness, 
seemed  to  be  a  little  lady.  Katy  did  not  like  to 
class  her  among  the  girls  who  flirted  with  students 
whom  they  did  not  know. 

It  was  wonderful  how  soon  they  all  settled 
down,  and  became  accustomed  to  their  new  life. 
Before  six  weeks  were  over,  Katy  and  Clover 
felt  as  if  they  had  lived  at  Hillsover  for  years. 
This  was  partly  because  there  was  so  much  to  do. 
Nothing  makes  time  fly  like  having  every  moment 
filled,  and  every  hour  set  apart  for  a  distinct 
employment. 

They  made  several  friends,  chief  among  whom 
were  Ellen  Gray  and  Louisa  Agnew.  This  last  inti- 
macy Lilly  resented  highly,  and  seemed  to  consider 


ROSES  AND   THORNS.  W 

as  an  affront  to  herself.  With  no  one,  however,  was 
Katy  so  intimate  as  Clover  was  with  Rose  Red. 
This  cost  Katy  some  jealous  pangs  at  first.  She  wa*> 
so  used  to  considering  Clover  her  own  exclusive 
property  that  it  was  not  easy  to  share  her  with 
another ;  and  she  had  occasional  fits  of  feeling 
resentful,  and  injured,  and  left  out.  These  were 
but  momentary,  however.  Katy  was  too  healthy 
of  mind  to  let  unkind  feelings  grow,  and  by  and  by 
she  grew  fond  of  Rose  and  Rose  of  her,  so  that  in 
the  end  the  sisters  shared  their  friend  as  they  did 
other  nice  things,  and  neither  of  them  was  jealous 
of  the  other. 

But,  charming  as  she  was,  a  certain  price  had 
to  be  paid  for  the  pleasure  of  intimacy  with  Rose. 
Her  overflowing  spirits,  and  "  the  little  fiend 
inside  her,"  were  always  provoking  scrapes,  in 
which  her  friends  were  apt  to  be  more  or  less 
involved.  She  was  very  penitent  and  afflicted 
after  these  scrapes ;  but  it  didn't  make  a  bit  of 
difference  :  the  next  time  she  was  just  as  naughty 
as  ever. 

"  What  are  you  doing  ?  "  said  Katy,  one  day 


100  WHAT   KATY  DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

meeting  her  in  the  hall  with  a  heap  of  black  shawls 
and  aprons  on  her  arm. 

"  Hush ! "  whispered  Rose,  mysteriously , 
44  don't  say  a  word.  Senator  Brown  is  dead, 
—  oui*  senator,  you  know.  I'm  going  to  put  my 
window  into  mourning  for  him,  that's  all.  It's  a 
proper  token  of  respect." 

Two  hours  later,  Mrs.  Nipson,  walking  sedately 
across  the  common,  noticed  quite  a  group  of  stu- 
dents, in  the  president's  side  yard,  looking  up  at 
the  Nunnery.  She  drew  nearer.  They  were 
admiring  Rose's  window,  hung  with  black,  and 
decorated  with  a  photograph  of  the  deceased  sen- 
ator, suspended  in  the  middle  of  a  wreath  of  weep- 
ing-willow. Of  course  she  hurried  upstairs,  and 
tore  down  the  shawls  and  aprons;  and,  equally 
of  course,  Rose  had  a  lecture  and  a  mark ;  but, 
dear  me  I  what  good  did  it  do?  The  next  day 
but  one,  as  Katy  and  Clover  sat  together  in  silent 
study  hour,  their  lower  drawer  was  pushed  open 
very  noiselessly  and  gently,  till  it  came  out 
entirely,  and  lay  on  the  floor,  and  in  the  aper- 
ture ttus  formed  appeared  Rose's  saucy  face 


HOSES   AND   THOKN8.  101 

flushed  with  mischief.  She  was  crawling  througd 
from  her  own  room  ! 

44  Such  fun !  "  she  whispered ;  "I  never 
thought  of  this  before  I  We  can  have  parties 
in  study  hours,  and  all  sorts  of  things." 

"  Oh,  go  back,  Rosy !  "  whispered  Clover  in 
agonized  entreaty,  though  laughing  all  the 
time. 

"  Go  back  ?  Not  at  all !  I'm  coming  in," 
answered  Rose,  pulling  herself  through  a  little 
farther.  But  at  that  moment  the  dopr  opened: 
there  stood  Miss  Jane  I  She  had  caught  the 
buzz  of  voices,  as  she  passed  in  the  hall,  and 
had  entered  to  see  what  was  going  on. 

Rose,  dreadfully  frightened,  made  a  rapid 
movement  to  withdraw.  But  the  space  was 
narrow,  and  she  had  wedged  herself,  and  could 
move  neither  backward  nor  forward.  She  had 
to  submit  to  being  helped  through  by  Miss 
Jane,  in  a  series  of  pulls,  while  Katy  and  Clover 
sat  by,  not  daring  to  laugh  or  to  offer  assistance. 
When  Rose  was  on  her  feet,  Miss  Jane  released 
her  with  a  final  shake  which  she  seemed  unable 
to  refrain  from  giving 


102  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Go  to  your  room,"  she  said ;  "  I  shall  report 
all  of  you  young  ladies  for  this  flagrant  act  of 
disobedience." 

Rose  went,  and  in  two  minutes  the  drawer, 
which  Miss  Jane  had  replaced,  opened  again,  and 
there  was  this  note  :  — 

44  If  I'm  never  heard  of  more,  give  my  love  to 
my  family,  and  mention  how  I  died.     I  forgive  my 
enemies  ;  and  leave  Clover  my  band  bracelet. 
"  My  blessings  on  you  both. 

44  With  the  deepest  regard, 

"  Your  afflicted  friend,  R.  R.' 

Mrs.  Florence  was  very  angry  on  this  occasion  , 
and  would  listen  to  no  explanations,  but  gave 
Katy  and  Clover  a  "  disobedience  mark "  also. 
This  was  very  unfair,  and  Rose  felt  dreadfully 
about  it.  She  begged  and  entreated;  but  Mrs. 
Florence  only  replied :  "  There  is  blame  on  both 
sides,  I  have  no  doubt." 

44  She's  entirely  changed  from  what  she  used 
to  be,"  declared  Rose.  4t  I  don't  know  what's 
the  matter ;  I  don't  like  her  half  so  much  as  I 
did." 


ROSES   AND   THORNS.  103 

The  truth  was,  that  Mrs.  Florence  had  secretly 
determined  to  give  up  her  connection  with  the 
school  at  midsummer;  and,  regarding  it  now 
rather  as  Mrs.  Nipson's  school  than  her  own,  she 
took  no  pains  to  study  character  or  mete  out 
justice  carefully  among  scholars  with  whom  she 
was  not  likely  to  have  much  to  do. 


1 04  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  8.  3.  U.  C. 

]T  was  Saturday  afternoon;  and  Clover, 
having  finished  her  practising,  dusting, 
and  mending,  had  settled  herself  in  No. 
6  for  a  couple  of  hours  of  quiet  enjoyment.  Every 
thing  was  in  beautiful  order  to  meet  Miss  Jane's 
inspecting  eye ;  and  Clover,  as  she  sat  in  the  rock- 
ing chair,  writing-case  in  lap,  looked  extremely 
cosy  and  comfortable. 

A  half-finished  letter  to  Elsie  lay  in  the  writing 
case ;  but  Clover  felt  lazy,  and  instead  of  writing 
was  looking  out  of  window  in  a  dreamy  way,  to 
where  Berry  Searles  and  some  other  young  men 
were  playing  ball  in  the  yard  below.  She  was  not 
thinking  of  them  or  of  any  thing  else  in  particular. 
A  vague  sense  of  pleasant  idleness  possessed  her, 
and  it  was  like  the  breaking  of  a  dream  when  the 


THE   8.    6.    U.    C.  105 

door  opened  and  Katy  came  in,  not  quietly  aftei 
her  wont,  but  with  a  certain  haste  and  indignant 
rustle  as  if  vexed  by  something.  When  she  saw 
Clover  at  the  window,  she  cried  out  hastily,  "  O 
Clover,  don't  I " 

44  Don't  what  ?  "  asked  Clover,  without  turning 
her  head. 

"  Don't  sit  there  looking  at  those  boys." 

"Why?  why  not?  They  can't  see  me.  The 
blinds  are  shut." 

"  No  matter  for  that.  It's  just  as  bad  as  if  they 
could  see  you.  Don't  do  it.  I  can't  bear  to  have 
you." 

"  Well,  I  won't  then,"  said  Clover,  good-humor- 
edly,  facing  round  with  her  back  to  the  window. 
"I  wasn't  looking  at  them  either, — not  exactly. 
I  was  thinking  about  Elsie  and  John,  and  wonder- 
ing —  But  what's  the  matter,  Katy  ?  What  makes 
you  fire  up  so  about  it  ?  You've  watched  the  ball- 
playing  yourself  plenty  of  times." 

"  I  know  I  have,  and  I  didn't  mean  to  be  cross, 
Clovy.  The  truth  is  I  am  all  put  out.  These 
girls  with  their  incessant  talk  about  the  students 

make  me  absolutely  sick.     It  is  so  unladylike,  and 
6* 


106  WHAT   KATY  DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

BO  bad,  especially  for  the  little  ones.  Fancy  that 
mite  of  a  Carrie  Steele  informing  me  that  she  is 
4  in  love '  with  Harry  Crosby.  In  love  1  A  baby 
like  that !  She  has  no  business  to  know  that  there 
is  such  a  thing." 

"  Yes,"  said  Clover,  laughing :  "  she  wrote  his 
name  on  a  wintergreen  lozenge,  and  bored  a  hole 
and  hung  it  round  her  neck  on  a  blue  ribbon, 
But  it  melted  and  stuck  to  her  frock,  and  she  had 
to  take  it  off." 

"  Whereupon  she  ate  it,"  added  Rose,  who  came 
in  at  that  moment. 

The  girls  shouted,  but  Katy  soon  grew  grave. 
"  One  can't  help  laughing,"  she  said,  "but  isn't 
it  a  shame  to  have  such  things  going  on?  Just 
fancy  our  Elsie  behaving  so,  Clover  I  Why, 
papa  would  have  a  fit.  I  declare,  I've  a  great 
mind  to  get  up  a  society  to  put  down  flirting." 

"  Do  I  "  said  Rose.  "  What  fun  it  would  be  I 
Call  it '  The  Society  for  the  Suppression  of  Young 
Men.'  I'll  join." 

"  You,  indeed  I "  replied  Katy,  shaking  her  head. 
"  Didn't  I  see  Berry  Searles  throw  a  bunch  of 
syringa  into  your  window  only  this  morning?" 


THE   S.    8.    U.   O.  107 

"Dear  me!  did  he?  I  shall  have  to  speak  to  Mary 
again.  It's  quite  shocking  to  have  her  go  on  so. 
But  really  and  truly  do  let  us  have  a  Society.  It 
would  be  so  jolly.  We  could  meet  on  Saturday 
afternoons,  and  write  pieces  and  have  signals  and 
a  secret,  as  Sylvia's  Society  did  when  she  was  at 
school.  Get  one  up,  Katy,  —  that's  a  dear." 

"But,"  said  Katy,  taken  aback  by  having  her 
random  idea  so  suddenly  adopted,  "  if  I  did  get 
one  up,  it  would  be  in  real  earnest,  and  it  would 
be  a  society  against  flirting.  And  you  know  you 
can't  help  it,  Rosy." 

"  Yes,  I  can.  You  are  doing  me  great  injustice. 
I  don't  behave  like  those  girls  in  Attic  Row.  I 
never  did.  I  just  bow  to  Berry  and  the  rest  whom 
I  really  know,  —  never  to  anybody  else.  And  you 
must  see,  Katherine  darling,  that  it  would  be  the 
height  of  ingratitude  if  I  didn't  bow  to  boys  who 
made  mud  pies  for  me  when  I  was  little,  and  lent 
me  their  marbles,  and  did  all  sorts  of  kind  things. 
Now  wouldn't  it  ?  "  —  coaxingly. 

"Per  —  haps,"  admitted '  Katy,  with  a  smile. 
46  But  you're  such  a  witch !  " 

"I'm  not,  —  indeed  I'm  not.     I'll  be  a  pillar  of 


108  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL,. 

society  if  only  you'll  provide  a  Society  for  ine  to 
be  a  pillar  of.  Now,  Katy,  do,  —  ah,  do,  do !  " 

When  Rose  was  in  a  coaxing  mood,  few  people 
could  resist  her.  Katy  yielded,  and  between  jest 
and  earnest  the  matter  was  settled.  Katy  was  to 
head  the  plan  and  invite  the  members. 

"  Only  a  few  at  first,"  suggested  Rose.  "  When 
it  is  proved  to  be  a  success,  and  everybody  wants 
to  join,  we  can  let  in  two  or  three  more  as  a  great 
favor.  What  shall  the  name  be  ?  We'll  keep  it 
a  secret,  whatever  it  is.  There's  no  fun  in  a  society 
without  a  secret." 

What  should  the  name  be  ?  Rose  invented  half 
a  dozen,  each  more  absurd  than  the  last.  "  The 
Anti-Jane  Society"  would  sound  well,  she  in- 
sisted. Or,  no !  —  the  "  Put-him-down  Club"  was 
better  yet !  Finally  they  settled  upon  "  The 
Society  for  the  Suppression  of  Unladylike  Con- 
duct." 

44  Only  we'll  never  use  the  whole  name,"  said 
Rose:  "  we'll  say,  'The  S.  S.  U.  C.'  That  sounds 
brisk  and  snappy,  and  will  drive  the  whole  school 
wild  with  curiosity.  What  larks  1  How  I  long  to 
begin  I  " 


Now,  Katy,  do,  —  ah,  do,  do."  —  PAGE  108. 


THE   8.    S.    U.    C.  109 

The  next  Saturday  was  fixed  upon  for  the  first 
meeting.  During  the  week  Katy  proposed  the 
plan  to  the  elect  few,  all  of  whom  accepted  en- 
thusiastically. Lilly  Page  was  the  only  person  who 
declined.  She  said  it  would  be  stupid;  that  for 
her  part  she  didn't  set  up  to  be  "  proper  "  or  better 
than  she  was,  and  that  in  any  case  she  shouldn't 
wish  to  be  mixed  up  in  a  Society  of  which  4k  Miss 
Agnew  "  was  a  member.  The  girls  did  not  break 
their  hearts  over  this  refusal.  They  had  felt 
obliged  to  ask  her  for  relationship's  sake,  but 
everybody  was  a  little  relieved  that  she  did  not 
wish  to  join. 

No.  6  looked  very  full  indeed  that  Saturday 
afternoon  when  the  S.  S.  U.  C.  came  together  for 
the  first  time.  Ten  members  were  present.  Mary 
Silver  and  Louisa  were  two;  and  Rose's  crony, 
Esther  Dearborn,  another.  The  remaining  foui 
were  Sally  Alsop  and  Amy  Erskine ;  Alice  Gib- 
bons, one  of  the  new  scholars,  whom  they  all  liked, 
but  did  not  know  very  well ;  and  Ellen  Gray,  a 
pale,  quiet  girl,  with  droll  blue  eyes,  a  comical  twist 
to  her  mouth,  and  a  trick  of  saying  funny  things  in 
such  a  demure  way  that  half  the  people  who  listened 


110  WHAT   KATY    DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

never  found  out  that  they  were  funny.  All  Rose's 
chairs  had  been  borrowed  for  the  occasion.  Three 
girls  sat  on  the  bed,  and  three  on  the  floor.  With 
a  little  squeezing,  there  was  plenty  of  room  for 
everybody. 

Katy  was  chosen  President,  and  requested  to 
take  the  rocking-chair  as  a  sign  of  office.  This 
she  did  with  much  dignity,  and  proceeded  to  read 
the  Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  Society,  which 
had  been  drawn  up  by  Rose  Red,  and  copied  on 
an  immense  sheet  of  blue  paper. 

They  ran  thus :  — 


CONSTITUTION  OP  THE  SOCIETY  FOR  THE  SUPPRESSION  o» 
UNLADYLIKE  CONDUCT,  KNOWN  TO  THE  UNINITIATED  AS 
THE  S.  S.  U.  C. 

ARTICLE  I. 

The  object  of  this  Society  is  twofold :  it  combines  having 
a  good  time  with  the  pursuit  of  VIRTUE. 

ARTICLE  II. 

The  good  time  is  to  take  place  once  a  week  in  No.  6 
Quaker  Row,  between  the  hours  of  four  and  six  p.  if. 


THE  8.   8.   U.   O.  Ill 

ARTICLE  HI. 

rhe  nature  of  the  good  time  is  to  be  decided  upon  by  a 
Committee  to  be  appointed  each  Saturday  by  the  memben 
of  the  Society. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

VIRTUE  is  to  be  pursued  at  all  times  and  in  all  seasons, 
by  the  members  of  the  Society  setting  their  faces  against  the 
practice  of  bowing  and  speaking  to  young  gentlemen  who 
are  not  acquaintances;  waving  of  pocket  handkerchiefs,  sig- 
nals from  windows,  and  any  species  of  conduct  which  would 
be  thought  unladylike  by  nice  people  anywhere,  and  espe 
r.ially  by  the  mammas  of  the  Society. 

AKTICLE  V. 

The  members  of  the  Society  pledge  themselves  to  iu>e 
their  influence  against  these  practices,  both  by  precept  and 
example. 

In  witness  whereof  we  sign. 

KATHERINE  CARR,  President. 

ROSAMUND  REDDING,  Secretary, 

CLOVER  E.  CARR. 

MARY  L.  SILVER 

ESTHER  DEARBORN. 

SALLY  P.  ALSOP. 

AMY  W.  ERSKINE. 

ALICE  GIBBONS. 

ELLEN  WHITWORTH  GRAY. 


112  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

Next  followed  the  By-Laws.  Katy  had  not  been 
able  to  see  the  necessity  of  having  any  By-Laws, 
but  Rose  had  insisted.  She  had  never  heard  of  a 
Society  without  them,  she  said,  and  she  didn't 
think  it  would  be  "legal"  to  leave  them  out. 
It  had  cost  her  some  trouble  to  invent  them, 
but  at  last  they  stood  thus :  — 

Br-LAw  No.  1. 

The  members  of  the  S.  S.  U.  C.  will  observe  the  fol- 
lowing signals:  — 

1st.  The  Grip.  —  This  is  given  by  inserting  the  first  and 
middle  finger  of  the  right  hand  between  the  thumb  and 
fourth  finger  of  the  respondent's  left,  and  describing  a 
rotatory  motion  in  the  air  with  the  little  finger.  N.  B. 
Much  practice  is  necessary  to  enable  members  to  ex- 
change this  signal  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  attract 
attention. 

2d.  The  Signal  of  Danger.  —  This  signal  is  for  use 
when  Miss  Jane,  or  any  other  foe-woman,  heaves  in  sight 
It  consists  in  rubbing  the  nose  violently,  and  at  the  same 
time  giving  three  stamps  on  the  floor  with  the  left  foot. 
It  must  be  done  with  an  air  of  unconsciousness. 

3d.  The  Signal  for  Consultation.  —  This  signal  is  for 
use  when  Immediate  communication  is  requisite  between 
members  of  the  Society.  It  consists  of  a  pinch  on  the 
back  of  the  right  hand,  accompanied  by  the  word  "  Holo- 
fernei  "  pronounced  in  a  low  voice. 


THE   S.   8.    U.   O.  118 

BY-LAW  No.  2. 

The  members  of  the  S.  S.  U.  C.  pledge  themselves  to 
inviolable  secrecy  about  all  Society  proceedings. 

BY-LAW  No.  3. 

The  members  of  the  S.  S.  U.  C.  will  bring  their  Saturfaj 
corn-balls  to  swell  the  common  entertainment. 

BY-LAW  No.  4. 

Members  having  boxes  from  home  are  at  liberty  to  con- 
tribute such  part  of  the  contents  as  they  please  to  the 
afore-mentioned  common  entertainment. 

Here  the  By-Laws  ended.  There  was  much 
laughter  over  them,  especially  over  the  last. 

"  Why  did  you  put  that  in,  Rosy?"  asked  Ellen 
Gray :  "  it  strikes  me  as  hardly  necessary." 

"  Oh,"  replied  Rose,  "  I  put  that  in  to  encourage 
Silvery  Mary  there.  She's  expecting  a  box  soon, 
and  I  knew  that  she  would  pine  to  give  the  Society 
a  share,  but  would  be  too  timid  to  propose  it ;  so  I 
thought  I  would  just  pave  the  way." 

"  How  truly  kind  !"  laughed  Clover. 

"  Now,"  said  the  President,  "  the  entertainment 
of  the  meeting  will  begin  by  the  reading  of  l  Trail- 
ing Arbutus,'  a  poem  by  C.  E.  C." 


114  WHAT    KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

Clover  had  been  very  unwilling  to  read  the  first 
piece,  and  had  only  yielded  after  much  coaxing 
from  Rose,  who  had  bestowed  upon  her  in  conse- 
quence the  name  of  Quintia  Curtia.  She  felt  very 
shy  as  she  stood  up  with  her  paper  in  her  hand, 
and  her  voice  trembled  perceptibly;  but  after  a 
minute  she  grew  used  to  the  sound  of  it,  and  read 

ftteadily. 

TRAILING  AKBUTUS. 

I  always  think,  when  looking 

At  its  mingled  rose  and  white, 
Of  the  pink  lips  of  children 

Put  up  to  say  good-night. 

Cuddled  its  green  leaves  under, 

Like  babies  in  their  beds, 
Its  blossoms  shy  and  sunny 

Conceal  then*  pretty  heads. 

And  when  I  lift  the  blanket  up 

And  peep  inside  of  it, 
They  seem  to  give  me  smile  for  smile, 

Nor  be  afraid  a  bit. 

Dear  little  flower,  the  earliest 

Of  all  the  flowers  that  are ; 
Twinkling  upon  the  bare,  brown  earth, 

As  on  the  clouds  a  star. 

How  can  we  fail  to  love  it  well, 

Or  prize  it  more  and  more ! 
It  is  the  first  small  signal 

That  winter  time  is  o'er; 


THE   8.   8.   U.   O.  116 

That  Spring  has  not  forgotten  us, 

Though  late  and  slow  she  be, 
But  is  upon  her  flying  way, 

And  we  her  face  shall  see. 

This  production  caused  quite  a  sensation  among 
the  girls.  They  had  never  heard  any  of  Clover's 
verses  before,  and  thought  these  wonderful. 

"  Why  I "  cried  Sally  Alsop,  "  it  is  almost  as 
good  as  Tupper ! "  Sally  meant  this  for  a  great 
compliment,  for  she  was  devoted  to  the  "Pro- 
verbial Philosophy." 

"  A  Poem  by  E.  D."  was  the  next  thing  on  the 
list.  Esther  Dearborn  rose  with  great  pomp  and 
dignity,  cleared  her  throat,  put  on  a  pair  of  eye- 
glasses, and  began. 

MISS  JANE. 

Who  ran  to  catch  me  on  the  spot, 
If  I  the  slightest  rule  forgot, 
Believing  and  excusing  not  ? 

Miss  Jane. 

Who  lurked  outside  my  door  all  day, 
In  hopes  that  I  would  disobey, 
And  some  low  whispered  word  would  say  f 

Miss  Jane. 

Who  sternly  bade  me  come  and  go, 
Do  this,  do  that,  or  else  forego 
The  other  thing  I  longed  for  so  ? 

Miss  Jane. 


116  WHAT   KATY  DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

Who  caught  our  Rose-hud  halfway  through 
The  wall  which  parted  her  from  two 
Friends,  and  that  small  prank  made  her  rue  f 

Miss  Jane. 

Who  is  our  bane,  our  foe,  our  fear  ? 
Who's  always  certain  to  appear 
fust  when  we  do  not  think  her  near  ? 

Miss  Jane. 

"  Who  down  the  hall  is  creeping  now 
With  stealthy  step,  but  knowing  not  how 
Exactly  to  discover  "  — 

broke  in  Rose,  improvising  rapidly.  Next  moment 
came  a  knock  at  the  door.  It  was  Miss  Jane. 

"  Your  drawers,  Miss  Carr, — your  cupboard,"  — 
she  said,  going  across  the  room  and  examining  each 
in  turn.  There  was  no  fault  to  be  found  with 
either,  so  she-  withdrew,  giving  the  laughing  girls 
a  suspicious  glance,  and  remarking  that  it  was  a 
bad  habit  to  sit  on  beds, — it  always  injured  them. 

"  Do  you  suppose  she  heard?"  whispered  Mary 
Silver. 

"No,  I  don't  think  she  did,"  replied  Rose. 
"  Of  course  she  suspected  us  of  being  in  some 
mischief  or  other,  —  she  always  does  that.  Now, 
Ma^ry,  it's  your  turn  to  give  us  an  intellectual 
treat.  Begin." 


THE   S.    S.   TJ.    0.  117 

Poor  Mary  shrank  back,  blushing  and  protesting. 

"  You  know  I  can't,"  she  said,  "I'm  too  stupid." 

"  Rubbish ! "  cried  Rose.  "  You're  the  dearest 
girl  that  ever  was."  She  gave  Mary's  shoulder 
a  reassuring  pat. 

"  Mary  is  excused  this  time,"  put  in  Katy.  "  It 
is  the  first  meeting,  so  I  shall  be  indulgent.  But, 
after  this,  every  member  will  be  expected  to  con- 
tribute something  for  each  meeting.  I  mean  to 
be  very  strict." 

"  Oh,  I  never,  never  can  I  "  cried  Mary.  Rose 
was  down  on  her  at  once.  "  Nonsense  1  hush  1 " 
she  said.  "  Of  course  you  can.  You  shall,  if  I 
have  to  write  it  for  you  myself!" 

"  Order ! "  said  the  President,  rapping  on  the 
table  with  a  pencil.  "  Rose  has  something  to  read 
to  us." 

Rose  stood  up  with  great  gravity.  "I  would 
ask  for  a  moment's  delay,  that  the  Society  may 
get  out  its  pocket-handkerchiefs,"  she  said.  "  My 
piece  is  an  affecting  one.  I  didn't  mean  it,  but 
it  came  so.  We  cannot  always  be  cheerful."  Here 
she  heaved  a  sigh,  which  set  the  S.  S.  U.  C.  to 
laughing,  and  began. 


118  WHAT   KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

A   SCOTCH  POEM. 

Wee,  crimson-tippet  Willie  Wink, 

Wae's  me,  drear,  dree,  and  dra, 
A  waeful  thocht,  a  fearsome  flea, 

A  wuthering  wind,  and  a*. 

Sair,  sair  thy  mither  sabs  her  lane, 

Her  een,  her  mou,  are  wat ; 
Her  cauld  kail  hae  the  corbies  ta'en, 

And  grievously  she  grat. 

Ah,  me,  the  suthering  of  the  wind ! 

Ah,  me,  the  waesome  mither  1 
Ah,  me,  the  bairnies  left  aiiind, 

The  shither,  hither,  blither  ! 

"  What  does  it  mean?"  cried  the  girls,  as  Rcse 
folded  up  the  paper  and  sat  down. 

"Mean?"  said  Rose,  "I'm  sure  I  don't  know. 
It's  Scotch,  I  tell  you !  It's  the  kind  of  thing  that 
people  read,  and  then  they  say,  '  One  of  the  love- 
liest gems  that  Burns  ever  wrote ! '  I  thought  I'd 
see  if  I  couldn't  do  one  too.  Anybody  can,  I  find : 
it's  not  at  all  difficult." 

All  the  poems  having  been  read,  Katy  now  pro- 
posed that  they  should  play  "  Word  and  Question." 
She  and  Clover  were  accustomed  to  the  game  at 
home,  but  to  some  of  the  others  it  was  quite  new. 

Each  girl  was  furnished  with  a  slip  of  paper 


THE   8.   8.    U.   0.  119 

and  a  pencil,  and  was  told  to  write  a  word  at  the 
top  of  the  paper,  fold  it  over,  and  pass  it  to  her 
next  left-hand  neighbor. 

"  Dear  me !  I  don't  know  what  to  write,"  said 
Mary  Silver. 

"  Oh,  write  any  thing,"  said  Clover.  So  Mar} 
obediently  wrote  "  Any  thing,"  and  folded  it  over. 

"  What  next?"  asked  Alice  Gibbons. 

"  Now  a  question,"  said  Katy.  "  Write  it  under 
the  word,  and  fold  over  again.  No,  Amy,  not  on 
the  fold.  Don't  you  see,  if  you  do,  the  writing  will 
be  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  paper  when  we  come 
to  read  ?  " 

The  questions  were  more  troublesome  than  the 
words,  and  the  girls  sat  frowning  and  biting  their 
pencil-tops  for  some  minutes  before  all  were  done. 
As  the  slips  were  handed  in,  Katy  dropped  them 
into  the  lid  of  her  work-basket,  and  thoroughly 
mixed  and  stirred  them  up. 

"  Now,"  she  said,  passing  it  about,  "  each  draw 
one,  read,  and  write  a  rhyme  in  which  the  word  is 
introduced  and  the  question  answered.  It  needn't 
be  more  than  two  lines,  unless  you  like.  Here 
Rose,  it's  your  turn  first." 


120  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Oh,  what  a  hard  game ! "  cried  some  of  the 
girls;  but  pretty  soon  they  grew  interested,  and 
began  to  work  over  their  verses. 

"I  should  uncommonly  like  to  know  who  wrote 
this  abominable  word,"  said  Rose,  in  a  tone  of  de- 
spair. "  Clover,  you  rascal,  I  believe  it  was 
you." 

Clover  peeped  over  her  shoulder,  nodded,  and 
laughed. 

"  Very  well  then  I "  snatching  up  Clover's  slip, 
and  putting  her  own  in  its  place,  "  you  can  just 
write  on  it  yourself,  —  I  shan't  I  I  never  heard  of 
such  a  word  in  my  life !  You  made  it  up  for  the 
occasion,  you  know  you  did !  " 

"I  didn't!  it's  in  the  Bible,"  replied  Clover, 
setting  to  work  composedly  on  the  fresh  papei. 
But  when  Rose  opened  Clover's  slip  she  groaned 
again. 

"  It's  just  as  bad  as  the  other  I "  she  cried.  "  Do 
change  back  again,  Clovy,  —  that's  a  dear." 

"  No,  indeed!"  said  Clover,  guarding  her  paper: 
*  you've  changed  once,  and  now  you  must  keep 
what  you  have." 

Rose  made  a  face,  chewed  her  pencil  awhile,  and 


THE  S.   S.   U.   C.  121 

then  began  to  write  rapidly.  For  some  minutes 
not  a  word  was  spoken. 

"I've  done!"  said  Esther  Dearborn  at  last, fling- 
ing her  paper  into  the  basket-lid. 

"  So  have  1 1 "  said  Katy. 

One  by  one  the  papers  were  collected  and  jum- 
bled into  a  heap.  Then  Katy,  giving  all  a  final 
shake,  drew  out  one,  opened  it,  and  read. 

Word.  —  Radishes. 

Question.  —  How  do  you  like  your  clergymen  done  I 

How  do  I  like  them  done  ?    Well,  that  depends. 

I  like  them  done  on  sleepy,  drowsy  Sundays ; 
I  like  them  under-done  on  other  days ; 

Perhaps  a  little  over-done  on  Mondays. 
But  always  I  prefer  them  old  as  pa, 
And  not  like  radishes,  all  red  and  raw. 

"  Oh,  what  a  rhyme  I  "  cried  Clover. 

"  Well,  —  what  is  one  to  do  ?  "  said  Ellen  Gray. 
Then  she  stopped  and  bit  her  lip,  remembering 
that  no  one  was  supposed  to  know  who  wrote  the 
separate  papers. 

"  Aha  I  it's  yours,  is  it,  Ellen  ? "  said  Rose. 
4<  You're  an  awfully  clever  girl,  and  an  ornament 
to  the  S.  S.  U.  C.  Go  on,  Katy." 

Katy  opened  the  second  slip. 
6 


122  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL 

Word.  —  Anything. 

Question.  —  Would  you  rather  be  a  greater  fool  than  you  seem, 
or  seem  a  greater  fool  than  you  are  ? 

I  wouldn't  seem  a  fool  for  anything,  my  iear, 
If  I  could  help  it ;   but  I  can't,  I  fear. 

"Not  bad,"  said  Rose,  nodding  her  head  at  Salty 
Alsop,  who  blushed  crimson. 
The  third  paper  ran,  — 

Word.  —  Mahershahalhashbaz. 

Question.  —  Does  your  mother  know  you're  out  1 

Rose  and  Clover  exchanged  looks. 

Why,  of  course  my  mother  knows  it, 

For  she  sent  me  out  herself,  and 
She  told  me  to  run  quickly,  for 

It  wasn't  but  a  mile ; 
But  I  found  it  was  much  farther, 

And  my  feet  grew  tired  and  weary, 
And  I  couldn't  hurry  greatly, 

So  it  took  a  long,  long  while. 
Beside,  I  stopped  to  read  your  word, 
A  stranger  one  I  never  heard  1 
I've  met  with  Pa-pistical, 
That's  pat ; 

But  3/o-hershahalhashbaz, 
What's  that  ? 

"  Oh,  Clovy,  you  bright  little  thing ! "  cried  Rose, 
in  fits  of  laughter.  But  Mary  Silver  looked  quite 
pale. 

"  I  never  heard  of  any  thing  so  awful ! "  she  said, 


THE   8.    8.    U.    C.  123 

44  If  that  word  had  come  to  me,  I  should  have 
fainted  away  on  the  spot,  —  I  know  I  should  I " 
Next  came  — 

Word.  —  Buttons. 

Question.  —  What  is  the  best  way  to  make  home  happy  « 

To  me  'tis  quite  clear  I  can  answer  this  right : 
Sew  on  the  buttons,  and  sew  them  on  tight. 

"  I  suspect  that  is  Amy's,"  said  Esther :  "  she's 
such  a  model  for  mending  and  keeping  things  in 
order." 

"  It's  not  fair,  guessing  aloud  in  this  way,"  said 
Sally  Alsop.  Sally  always  spoke  for  Amy,  and 
Amy  for  Sally.  "Voice  and  Echo"  Rose  called 
them:  only,  as  she  remarked,  nobody  could  tell 
which  was  Echo  and  which  Voice. 

The  next  word  was  "  Mrs.  Nipson,"  and  the 
question,  "  Do  you  like  flowers  ?  " 

Do  I  like  flowers  ?    I  will  not  write  a  sonnet, 
Singing  their  beauty  as  a  poet  might  do : 

I  just  detest  those  on  Aunt  Nipson's  bonnet, 
Because  they  are  like  her,  —  all  gray  and  blue,       ' 
Dusty  and  pinched,  and  fastened  on  askew ! 

And  as  for  heaven's  own  buttercups  and  daisies, 

I  am  not  good  enough  to  sing  their  praises. 

Nobody  knew  who  wrote  this  verse.  Katy  sus- 
pected Louisa,  and  Rose  suspected  Katy. 


124  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

The  sixth  slip  was  a  very  brief  one. 

Word.  —  When  ? 

Question.  —  Are  you  willing  1 

If  I  wasn't  willing,  I  would  tell  you ; 
But  when  —    Oh,  dear,  I  can't  I 

"  What  an  extraordinary  rhyme ! "  began  Clover , 
but  Rose  spied  poor  Mary  blushing  and  looking 
distressed,  and  hastily  interposed,  — 

"  It's  very  good,  I'm  sure.  I  wish  I'd  written 
it.  Go  oh,  Katy." 

So  Katy  went  on. 

Word.—  Unfeeling. 

Question.  —  Which  would  you  rather  do,  or  go  fishing  t 

I  don't  feel  up  to  fishing,  or  sich ; 

And  so,  if  you  please,  I'd  rather  do  —  which  1 

"  I  don't  seem  to  see  the  word  in  that  poem," 
said  Rose.  "  The  distinguished  author  will  please 
write  another." 

"  The  distinguished  author  "  made  no  reply  to 
this  suggestion  ;  but,  after  a  minute  or  two,  Esther 
Dearborn,  "  quite  disinterestedly,"  as  she  stated, 
remarked  that,  after  all,  to  "  don't  feel "  was  pretty 
much  the  same  as  unfeeling.  There  was  a  little 
chorus  of  groans  at  this,  and  Katy  said  she  should 
certainly  impose  a  fine  if  such  dodges  and  evasions 


THE   8.   S.    U.   C.  126 

Were  practised  again.  This  was  tKe  first  meeting, 
however,  and  she  would  be  merciful.  After  this 
speech  she  unfolded  another  paper.  It  ran,  - 

Word.  —  Flea. 

Question.  —  What  would  you  do,  love  ? 

What  would  I  do,  love  ?    Well,  I  do  not  know. 
How  can  I  tell  till  you  are  more  explicit  ? 
If  'twere  a  rose  you  held  me,  I  would  smell  it ; 
If  'twere  a  mouth  you  held  me,  I  would  kiss  it ; 
If  'twere  a  frog,  I'd  scream  than  furies  louder ; 
If  'twere  a  flea,  I'd  fetch  the  Lyon's  Powder. 

Only  two  slips  remained.  One  was  Katy's  own. 
She  knew  it  by  the  way  in  which  it  was  folded, 
and  had  almost  instinctively  avoided  and  left  it  for 
the  last.  Now,  however,  she  took  courage  and 
opened  it.  The  word  was  "  Measles,"  and  the 
question,  "  Who  was  the  grandmother  of  Inven- 
tion ?  "  These  were  the  lines  :  — 

The  night  was  horribly  dark, 

The  measles  broke  out  in  the  Ark  : 

Little  Japhet,  and  Shem,  and  all  the  young  Hams, 

Were  screaming  at  once  for  potatoes  and  clams. 

And  "  What  shall  I  do,"  said  poor  Mrs.  Noah, 

"  All  alone  by  myself  in  this  terrible  shower  ? 

1  know  what  I'll  do  :  I'll  step  down  in  the  hold, 

And  wake  up  a  lioness  grim  and  old, 

And  tie  her  close  to  the  children's  door, 

And  give  her  a  ginger-cake  to  roar 

At  the  top  of  her  voice  for  an  hour  or  more ; 


126  WHAT   KATY    DTD   AT   SCHOOL. 

And  I'll  tell  the  children  to  cease  their  din, 

Or  I'll  let  that  grim  old  party  in, 

To  stop  their  squeazles  and  likewise  their  measles."  — 

She  practised  this  with  the  greatest  success. 

She  was  every  one's  grandmother,  I  guess, 

44  That's  much  the  best  of  all ! "  pronounced  Alice 
Gibbons.  "  I  wonder  who  wrote  it  ?  " 

"Dear  me !  did  you  like  it  so  much?"  said  Rose, 
simpering,  and  doing  her  best  to  blush. 

14  Did  you  really  write  it  ?  "  said  Mary ;  but 
Louisa  laughed,  and  exclaimed,  "  No  use,  Rosy  I 
you  can't  take  us  in,  —  we  know  better!" 

"  Now  for  the  last,"  said  Katy.  "  The  word  is 
'Buckwheat,'  and  the  question,  'What  is  the  origin 
of  dreams?'" 

When  the  nuns  are  sweetly  sleeping, 

Mrs.  Nipson  comes  a-creeping, 

Creeping  like  a  kitty-cat  from  door  to  door ; 

And  she  listens  to  their  slumbers, 

And  most  carefully  she  numbers, 

Counting  for  every  nun  a  nunlet  snore  ! 

And  the  nuns  in  sweet  forgetfulness  who  lie, 

Dreaming  of  buckwheat  cakes,  parental  love,  and  —  pie, 

Moan  softly,  twist  and  turn,  and  see 

Black  cats  and  fiends,  who  frolic  in  their  glee  • 

And  nightmares  prancing  wildly  do  abound 

While  Mrs.  Nipson  makes  her  nightly  round. 

"Who  did  write  that?"  exclaimed  Rose.     No 


THE  8     S.    U.    C.  127 

body  answered.  The  girls  looked  at  each  other, 
and  Rose  scrutinized  them  all  with  sharp  glances. 

"  Well !  I  never  saw  such  creatures  for  keeping 
their  countenances,"  she  said.  "  Somebody  is  as 
bold  as  brass.  Didn't  you  see  how  I  blushed  when 
my  piece  was  read  ?  " 

"  You  monkey  I  "  whispered  Clover,  who  at  that 
moment  caught  sight  of  the  handwriting  on  the 
paper.  Rose  gave  her  a  warning  pinch,  and  they 
both  subsided  into  an  unseen  giggle. 

"What!  The  tea-bell!"  cried  everybody.  "We 
wanted  to  play  another  game.'* 

"  It's  a  complete  success ! "  whispered  Rose,  ec- 
statically, as  they  went  down  the  hall.  "  The 
girls  all  say  they  never  had  such  a  good  time  in 
their  lives.  I'm  so  glad  I  didn't  die  with  the 
measles  when  I  was  little!" 

"Well,"  demanded  Lilly,  "so  the  high  and 
mighty  Society  has  had  a  meeting  I  How  did  it 
gooff?" 

"  Ztelicious ! "  replied  Rose,  smacking  her  lips  as 
at  the  recollection  of  something  very  nice.  "But 
you  mustn't  ask  any  questions,  Lilly.  Outsiders 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  S.  S.  U.  C.  Oui 


128  WHAT    KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

proceedings  are  strictly  private."     She  ran  down 
stairs  with  Katy. 

"I  think  you're  real  mean!"  called  Lilly  after 
them.  Then  she  said  to  herself,  "They're  just 
trying  to  tease.  I  know  it  was  stupid." 


INJUSTICE.  129 


CHAPTER   VII. 

INJUSTICE. 

[UMMER  was  always  slow  in  getting  to 
Hillsover,  but  at  last  she  arrived,  and 
woods  and  hills  suddenly  put  on  new 
colors  and  became  beautiful.  The  sober  village 
shared  in  the  glorifying  process.  Vines  budded 
on  piazzas.  Wisteria  purpled  whitewashed  walls. 
The  brown  elm  boughs  which  hung  above  the 
Common  turned  into  trailing  garlands  of  fresh, 
green.  Each  walk  revealed  some  change,  or  ended 
in  some  delightful  discovery,  trilliums,  dog-tooth 
violets,  apple-trees  in  blossom,  or  wild  strawberries 
turning  red.  The  wood  flowers  and  mosses,  even 
the  birds  and  bird-songs,  were  new  to  our  Weetern 
girls.  Hillsover,  in  summer,  was  a  great  deal 
prettier  than  Burnet,  and  Katy  and  Clover  begac 
to  enjoy  school  very  much  indeed. 


130  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

Toward  the  end  of  June,  however,  something 
took  place  which  gave  them  quite  a  different  feel- 
ing, —  something  so  disagreeable  that  I  hate  to 
tell  about  it ;  but,  as  it  really  happened,  I  must. 

It  was  on  a  Saturday  morning.  They  had  just 
come  back  from  the  bath-house,  and  were  going 
upstairs,  laughing,  and  feeling  very  merry ;  for 
Clover  had  written  a  droll  piece  for  the  S.  S.  U.  C. 
meeting,  and  was  telling  Katy  about  it,  when,  just 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  they  met  Rose  Red.  She 
was  evidently  in  trouble,  for  she  looked  flushed 
and  excited,  and  was  under  escort  of  Miss  Barnes, 
who  marched  before  her  with  the  air  of  a  police- 
man. As  she  passed  the  girls,  Rose  opened  her 
eyes  very  wide,  and  made  a  face  expressive  of 
dismay. 

"What's  the  matter?"  whispered  Clover.  Rose 
only  made  another  grimace,  clawed  with  her  fin- 
gers at  Miss  Barnes's  back,  and  vanished  down  the 
entry  which  led  to  Mrs.  Florence's  room.  They 
stood  looking  after  her. 

"  Oh,  dear  I "  sighed  Clover,  "  I'm  so  afraid  Rose 
is  in  a  scrape." 

They  walked  on  toward  Quaker  Row.     In  the 


INJUSTICE.  131 

wash-room  was  a  knot  of  girls,  with  their  heads 
close  together,  whispering.  When  they  saw  Katy 
and  Clover,  they  became  silent,  and  gazed  at  them 
curiously. 

"  What  has  Rose  Red  gone  to  Mrs.  Florence 
about  ?  "  asked  Clover,  too  anxious  to  notice  the 
strange  manner  of  the  girls.  But  at  that  moment 
she  caught  sight  of  something  which  so  amazed 
her  that  she  forgot  her  question.  It  was  nothing  less 
than  her  own  trunk,  with  "C.  E.  C."  at  the  end, 
being  carried  along  the  entry  by  two  men.  Miss 
Jane  followed  close  behind,  with  her  arms  full  of 
clothes  and  books.  Katy's  well-known  scarlet  pin- 
cushion topped  the  pile ;  in  Miss  Jane's  hand  were 
Clover's  comb  and  brush. 

"  Why,  what  does  this  mean  ? "  gasped  Clover, 
as  she  and  Katy  darted  after  Miss  Jane,  who  had 
turned  into  one  of  the  rooms.  It  was  No.  1,  at 
the  head  of  the  row,  —  a  room  which  no  one  had 
wanted,  on  account  of  its  smallness  and  lack  of 
light.  The  window  looked  out  on  a  brick  wall 
not  ten  feet  away ;  there  was  never  a  ray  of  sun 
to  make  it  cheerful ;  and  Mrs.  Nipson  had  con- 
verted it  into  a  store-room  for  empty  trunks.  Th« 


132  WHAT    KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

trunks  were  taken  away  now,  and  the  bed  waa 
strewn  with  Katy's  and  Clover's  possessions. 

"  Miss  Jane,  what  is  the  matter?  What  are  you 
moving  our  things  for  ? "  exclaimed  the  girls  in 
great  excitement. 

Miss  Jane  laid  down  her  load  of  dresses,  and 
looked  at  them  sternly. 

"  You  know  the  reason  as  well  as  I  do,"  she  said 
icily. 

"  No,  I  don't.  I  haven't  the  least  idea  what 
you  mean ! "  cried  Katy.  "  Oh,  please  be  careful ! " 
as  Miss  Jane  flung  a  pair  of  boots  on  top  of  Cousin 
Helen's  vase,  "you'll  break  it!  Pear,  dear! 
Clover,  there's  your  Cologne  bottle  tipped  over, 
and  all  the  Cologne  spilt !  What  does  it  mean  ? 
Is  our  room  going  to  be  painted,  or  what  ?  " 

"  Your  room,"  responded  Miss  Jane,  "  is  for  the 
future  to  be  this,  —  No.  1.  Miss  Benson  and  Miss 
James  will  take  No.  6  ;  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will 
conduct  themp^lves  more  properly  than  you  have 
done." 

"  Than  ve  have  done  I "  cried  Katy,  hardly  be- 
Ueving  her  oars. 

•'  Do  not  repeat  my  words  in  that  rude  way  I  " 


INJUSTICE.  133 

said  Miss  Jane,  tartly.      44  Yes,   than  you  have 
done  I " 

"  But  what  have  we  done  ?  There  is  some  dread- 
ful mistake  I  Do  tell  us  what  you  mean,  Miss 
Jane  !  We  have  done  nothing  wrong,  so  far  as 
I  know!" 

44  Indeed ! "  replied  Miss  Jane,  sarcastically. 
44  Your  ideas  of  right  and  wrong  must  be  pecu- 
liar I  I  advise  you  to  say  no  more  on  the  subject, 
but  be  thankful  that  Mrs.  Florence  keeps  you  in 
the  school  at  all,  instead  of  dismissing  you.  No- 
thing but  the  fact  that  your  home  is  at  such  a 
listance  prevents  her  from  doing  so." 

Katy  felt  as  if  all  the  blood  in  her  body  were 
turned  to  fire  as  she  heard  these  words,  and  met 
Miss  Jane's  eyes.  Her  old,  hasty  temper,  which 
had  seemed  to  die  out  during  years  of  pain  and 
patience,  flashed  into  sudden  life,  as  a  smoulder- 
ing coal  flashes,  when  you  least  expect  it,  into 
flame.  She  drew  herself  up  to  her  full  height, 
gave  Miss  Jane  a  look  of  scorching  indignation, 
and,  with  a  rapid  impulse,  darted  out  of  the  room 
and  along  the  hall  towards  Mrs.  Florence's  door. 
The  girls  she  met  scattered  from  her  path  right 


134  WHAT   KATY    DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

and  left.  She  looked  so  tall  and  moved  so  impetu- 
ously that  she  absolutely  frightened  them. 

"  Come  in,"  said  Mrs.  Florence,  in  answer  to  her 
sharp,  quivering  knock.  Katy  entered.  Rose  was 
not  there,  and  Mrs.  Florence  and  Mrs.  Nipson  sat 
together,  side  by  side,  in  close  consultation. 

"  Mrs.  Florence,"  said  Katy,  too  much  excited 
to  feel  in  the  least  afraid,  "  will  you  please  tell  me 
why  our  things  are  being  changed  to  No.  1?" 

Mrs.  Florence  flushed  with  anger.  She  looked 
Katy  all  over  for  a  minute  before  she  answered, 
then  she  said,  in  a  severe  voice,  "  It  is  done  by  my 
orders,  and  for  good  and  sufficient  reasons.  What 
those  reasons  are,  you  know  as  well  as  I." 

"  No,  I  don't  I  "  replied  Katy,  as  angry  as  Mrs. 
Florence.  "I  haven't  the  least  idea  what  they 
are,  and  I  insist  on  knowing  !  " 

"  I  cannot  answer  questions  put  in  such  an  im- 
proper manner,"  said  Mrs.  Florence,  with  a  wave 
of  the  hand  which  meant  that  Katy  was  to  go. 
But  Katy  did  not  stir. 

"  I  am  sorry  if  my  manner  was  improper,"  she 
said,  trying  to  speak  quietly,  "  but  I  think  I  have 
a  right  to  ask  what  this  means.  If  we  are  accused 


INJUSTICE.  135 

of  doing  wrong,  it  is  only  fair  to  tell  us  what 
it  is." 

Mrs.  Florence  only  waved  her  hand  again;  but 
Mrs.  Nipson,  who  had  been  twisting  uneasily  in 
her  chair,  said,  "  Excuse  me,  Mrs.  Florence,  but 
perhaps  it  would  be  better  —  would  satisfy  Miss 
Carr  better  —  if  you  were  to  be  explicit." 

"  It  does  not  seem  to  me  that  Miss  Carr  can  be 
in  need  of  any  explanation,"  replied  Mrs.  Florence. 
"  When  a  young  lady  writes  underhand  notes  to 
young  gentlemen,  and  throws  them  from  her  win- 
dow, and  they  are  discovered,  she  must  naturally 
expect  that  persons  of  correct  ideas  will  be  shocked 
and  disgusted.  Your  note  to  Mr.  Abernethy  Searles, 
Miss  Carr,  was  found  by  his  mother  while  mending 
his  pocket,  and  was  handed  by  her  to  me.  After 
this  statement,  you  will  hardly  be  surprised  that 
I  do  not  consider  H  best  to  permit  you  to  room 
longer  on  that  side  of  the  house.  I  did  not  sup- 
pose I  had  a  girl  in  my  school  capable  of  such 
conduct." 

For  a  moment  Katy  was  too  much  stunned  to 
speak.  She  took  hold  of  a  chair  to  steady  herself, 
and  her  color  changed  so  quickly  from  red  to  pale 


136  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

and  back  again  to  red,  that  Mrs.  Florence  and 
Mrs.  Nipson,  who  sat  watching  her,  might  be  par- 
doned for  thinking  that  she  looked  guilty.  As 
soon  as  she  recovered  her  voice,  she  stammered 
out,  "  But  I  didn't  !  I  never  did  !  I  haven't  writ- 
ten any  note  !  I  wouldn't  for  the  world  !  Oh, 
Mrs.  Florence,  please  believe  me  I  " 

"  I  prefer  to  believe  the  evidence  of  my  eyes," 
replied  Mrs.  Florence,  as  she  drew  a  paper  from 
her  pocket.  "  Here  is  the  note  I  I  suppose  you 
will  hardly  deny  your  own  signature." 

Katy  seized  the  note.  It  was  written  in  a  round, 
unformed  hand,  and  ran  thus  :  — 

"  DEAR  BERRY,  —  I  saw  you  last  night  on  the 
green.  I  think  you  are  splendid.  All  the  nuns 
think  so.  I  look  at  you  very  often  out  of  my 
window.  If  I  let  down  a  string,  would  you  tie 
a  cake  to  it,  like  that  kind  which  you  threw  to 
Mary  Andrews  last  term  ?  Tie  two  cakes,  please  ; 
one  for  me  and  one  for  my  room-mate.  The 
string  will  be  at  the  end  of  the  Row. 

"Miss 


In  spite  of  her   agitation,   Katy  could   hardly 


INJUSTICE.  137 

keep  b&;k  a  smile  as  she  read  this  absurd  produc- 
tion. Mrs.  Florence  saw  the  smile,  and  her  tone 
was  more  severe  than  ever,  as  she  said,  — 

44  Give  that  back  to  me,  if  you  please.  It  will 
be  my  justification  with  your  father  if  he  objects 
to  your  change  of  room." 

44  But,  Mrs.  Florence,"  cried  Katy,  "  I  never 
wrote  that  note.  It  isn't  my  handwriting ;  it  isn't 
my —  Oh,  surely,  you  can't  think  so  I  It's  too 
ridiculous." 

44  Go  to  your  room  at  once,"  said  Mrs.  Florence, 
44  and  be  thankful  that  your  punishment  is  such  a 
mild  one.  If  your  home  were  not  so  distant,  I 
should  write  to  ask  your  father  to  remove  you 
from  the  school ;  instead  of  which,  I  merely  put 
you  on  the  other  side  of  the  entry,  out  of  reach 
of  farther  correspondence  of  this  sort." 

44  But  /shall  write  him,  and  he  will  take  us  away 
immediately,"  cried  Katy,  stung  to  the  quick  by 
this  obstinate  injustice.  44 1  will  not  stay,  neither 
shall  Clover,  where  our  word  is  disbelieved,  and  w« 
are  treated  like  this.  Papa  knows  I  Papa  will 
never  doubt  us  a  moment  when  we  tell  him  thai 
khis  isn't  true." 


138  WHAT   KATY  DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

With  these  passionate  words  she  left  the  room, 
I  do  not  think  that  either  Mrs.  Florence  or  Mrs, 
Nipson  felt  very  comfortable  after  she  was  gone. 

That  was  a  dreadful  afternoon.  The  girls  had 
no  heart  to  arrange  No.  1,  or  do  any  thing  toward 
making  it  comfortable,  but  lay  on  the  bed  in  the 
midst  of  their  belongings,  crying,  and  receiving 
visits  of  condolence  from  their  friends.  The  S.  S. 
U.  C.  meeting  was  put  off.  Katy  was  in  no  humor 
to  act  as  president,  or  Clover  to  read  her  funny 
poem.  Rose  and  Mary  Silver  sat  by,  kissing  them 
at  intervals,  and  declaring  that  it  was  a  shame, 
while  the  other  members  dropped  in  one  by  one  to 
re-echo  the  same  sentiments. 

"  If  it  had  been  anybody  else ! "  said  Alice  Gib- 
bons ;  "  but  Katy,  Katy  of  all  persons  !  It  is  too 
much  I  " 

"  So  I  told  Mrs.  Florence,"  sobbed  Rose  Red. 
"  Oh,  why  was  I  born  so  bad  ?  If  I'd  always  been 
good,  and  a  model  to  the  rest  of  you,  perhaps  she'd 
have  believed  me  instead  of  scolding  harder  than 
ever." 

The  idea  of  Rose  as  a  "  model "  made  Clovei 
smile  in  the  midst  of  her  dolefulness. 


INJUSTICE.  139 

"It's  an  outrageous  thing,"  said  Ellen  Gray, 
"  if  Mrs.  Florence  only  knew  it,  you  two  have 
done  more  to  keep  the  rest  of  us  steady  than  any 
girls  in  school." 

"  So  they  have,"  blubbered  Rose,  whose  pretty 
face  was  quite  swollen  with  crying.  "  I've  been 
getting  better  and  better  every  day  since  they 
came."  She  put  her  arms  round  Clover  as  she 
spoke,  and  sobbed  harder  than  ever. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  excitement  that  Miss 
Jane  saw  fit  to  come  in  and  "inspect  the  room." 
When  she  saw  the  crying  girls  and  the  genera) 
confusion  of  every  thing,  she  was  very  angry. 

"  I  shall  mark  you  both  for  disorder,"  she  said. 
"  Get  off  the  bed,  Miss  Carr.  Hang  your  dresses 
up  at  once,  Clover,  and  put  your  shoes  in  the  shoe- ' 
bag.  I  never  saw  any  thing  so  disgraceful.  All 
these  things  must  be  in  order  when  I  return,  fifteen 
minutes  from  now,  or  I  shall  report  you  to  Mrs. 
Florence." 

"  It's  of  no  consequence  what  you  do.  We  are 
not  going  to  stay,"  muttered  Katy.  But  soon 
she  was  ashamed  of  having  said  this.  Her  anger 
was  melting,  and  grief  taking  its  place.  "  Oh 


140  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

pupa  !  papa  !  Elsie  !  Elsie  I  "  she  whispered  to 
herself,  as  she  slowly  hung  up  the  dresses ;  and, 
unseen  by  the  girls,  she  hid  her  face  in  the  folds 
of  Clover's  gray  alpaca,  and  shed  some  hot  teal's. 
Fill  then  she  had  been  too  angry  to  cry. 

This  softer  mood  followed  her  all  through  the 
evening.  Clover  and  Rose  sat  by,  talking  over  the 
affair  and  keeping  their  wrath  warm  with  discus- 
sion. Katy  said  hardly  a  word.  She  felt  too 
weary  and  depressed  to  speak. 

"  Who  could  have  written  the  note  ?  "  asked 
Clover  again  and  again.  It  was  impossible  to 
guess.  It  seemed  absurd  to  suspect  any  of  the 
older  girls ;  but  then,  as  Rose  suggested,  the  ab- 
surdity as  well  as  the  signature  might  have  been 
imitated  to  avoid  detection. 

"  I  know  one  thing,"  remarked  Rose,  "  and  that 
is  that  I  should  like  to  kill  Mrs.  Searles.  Horrid 
old  thing !  —  peeping  and  prying  into  pockets. 
She  has  no  business  to  be  alive  at  all." 

Rose's  ferocious  speeches  always  sounded  spe- 
cially comical  when  taken  in  connection  with  her 
pink  cheeks  and  her  dimples. 

"  Shall  you  write  to  papa  to-night,  Katy  ? " 
apked  Clover. 


INJUSTICE.  141 

Katy  shook  her   head.     She  was    too    heavy 
hearted   to   talk.      Big  tears  rolled  down  unseen 
and  fell  upon  the  pillow.     After  Rose  was  gone, 
and  the  candle  out,  she  cried  herself  to  sleep. 

Waking  early  in  the  dim  dawn,  she  lay  and 
thought  it  over,  Clover  slumbering  soundly  be- 
side her  meanwhile.  "  Morning  brings  counsel," 
says  the  old  proverb.  In  this  case  it  seemed  true- 
Katy,  to  her  surprise,  found  a  train  of  fresh 
thoughts  filling  her  mind,  which  were  not  there 
when  she  fell  asleep.  She  recalled  her  passionate 
words  and  feelings  of  the  day  before.  Now  that 
the  mood  had  passed,  they  seemed  to  her  worse 
than  the  injury  which  provoked  them.  Quick- 
tempered and  generous  people  often  experience 
this.  It  was  easier  for  Katy  to  forgive  Mrs. 
Florence,  because  it  was  needful  also  that  she 
should  forgive  herself. 

"  I  said  I  would  write  to  papa  to  take  us  away," 
uhe  thought.  "  Why  did  I  say  that  ?  What  good 
would  it  do?  It  wouldn't  make  anybody  dis- 
believe this  hateful  story.  They'd  only  think  I 
wanted  to  get  away  because  I  was  found  out. 
And  papa  would  be  so  worried  and  disappointed.  It 


142  WHAT   KATY  BED  AT  SCHOOL. 

has  cost  him  a  great  deal  to  get  us  ready  and  send 
us  here,  and  he  wants  us  to  stay  a  year.  If  we 
w  ent  home  now,  all  the  money  would  be  wasted. 
And  yet  how  horrid  it  is  going  to  be  after  this! 
f  don't  feel  as  if  I  could  ever  bear  to  see  Mrs, 
Florence  again.  I  must  write. ' 

"  But  then,"  her  thoughts  flowed  on,  "  home 
wouldn't  seem  like  home  if  we  went  away  *rom 
school  in  disgrace,  and  knew  that  ever/body  here 
was  believing  such  things.  Suppose,  instead,  I 
were  to  write  to  papa  to  come  on  and  ibaxp  things 
straight.  He'd  find  out  the  truth,  and  force  Mrs. 
Florence  to  see  it.  It  would  be  very  expensive, 
though ;  and  I  know  he  oughtn't  to  leave  home 
again  so  soon.  Oh,  dear  !  How  hard  it  is  to  know 
what  to  do  !  " 

"What  would  Cousin  Helen  say?"  she  con- 
tinued, going  in  imagination  to  the  sofa-side  of  the 
dear  friend  who  was  to  her  like  a  second  con- 
science. She  shut  her  eyes  and  invented  a  long 
talk,  —  her  questions,  Cousin  Helen's  replies.  But, 
as  everybody  knows,  it  is  impossible  to  play  croquet 
by  yourself  and  be  strictly  impartial  to  all  the  foui 
balls.  Katy  found  that  she  was  making  Cousiu 


INJUSTICE.  143 

Helen  play  (that  is,  answer)  as  she  herself  wished, 
and  not,  as  something  whispered,  she  would  answer 
were  she  really  there. 

"  It  is  just  the  4  Little  Scholar '  over  again,"  sho 
said,  half  aloud,  "  I  can't  see.  I  don't  know  hoT 
to  act."  She  remembered  the  dream  she  once 
had,  of  a  great  beautiful  Face  and  a  helping  hand. 
"  And  it  was  real,"  she  murmured,  "  and  just  as 
real,  and  just  as  near,  now  as  then." 

The  result  of  this  long  meditation  was  that, 
when  Clover  woke  up,  she  found  Katy  leaning 
over,  ready  to  kiss  her  for  good  morning,  and 
looking  bright  and  determined. 

"  Clovy,"  she  said,  "  I've  been  thinking ;  and 
I'm  not  going  to  write  to  papa  about  this  affair 
at  all ! " 

"Aren't  you?  Why  not?"  asked  Clover, 
puzzled. 

"  Because  it  would  worry  him,  and  be  of  no  use. 
lie  would  come  on  and  take  us  right  away,  I'm 
sure ;  but  Mrs.  Florence  and  all  the  teachers,  and 
a  great  many  of  the  girls,  would  always  believe 
that  this  horrid,  ridiculous  story  is  true.  I  can't 
bear  to  have  them.  Let's  stay,  instead,  and  con- 
vince them  that  it  isn't.  I  think  we  can." 


144  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT  SCHOOL. 

"I  would  a  great  deal  rather  go  home,r>  said 
Clover.  "  It  won't  ever  be  nice  here  again.  We 
shall  have  this  dark  room,  and  Miss  Jane  will  be 
more  unkind  than  ever,  and  the  girls  will  think  you 
wrote  that  note,  and  Lilly  Page  will  say  hateful 
things!"  She  buttoned  her  boots  with  a  vindic- 
tive air. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Katy,  trying  to  feel  brave. 
"I  don't  suppose  it  will  be  pleasant,  but  I'm 
pretty  sure  it's  right.  And  Rosy  and  all  the  girls 
we  really  care  for  know  how  it  is." 

"  I  can't  bear  it,"  sighed  Clover,  with  tears  in 
her  eyes.  "  It  is  so  cruel  that  they  should  say 
such  things  about  you." 

"I  mean  that  they  shall  say  something  quite 
different  before  we  go  away,"  replied  Katy,  strok- 
ing her  hair.  "  Cousin  Helen  would  tell  us  to 
stay,  I'm  pretty  sure.  I  was  thinking  about  her 
just  now,  and  I  seemed  to  hear  ner  voice  in  the 
air,  saying  over  and  over,  '  Live  it  down  I  Live  it 
down  I  Live  it  down  I ' "  She  half  sang  this,  and 
took  two  or  three  dancing  steps  across  the  rocm. 

"  What  a  girl  you  are !  "  said  Clover,  consoled  by 
seeing  Katy  look  so  bright. 


INJUSTICE. 

Mrs.  Florence  was  surprised  that  morning,  as 
she  sat  in  her  room,  by  the  appearance  of  Katy. 
She  looked  pale,  but  perfectly  quiet  and  gentle. 

"Mrs.  Florence,"  she  said,  "I've  come  to  say 
that  I  shall  noi;  write  to  my  father  to  take  us  away, 
as  I  told  you  I  should." 

Mrs.  Florence  bowed  stiffly,  by  way  of  answer. 

"Not,"  went  on  Katy,  with  a  little  flash  in  her 
eyes,  "  that  he  would  hesitate,  or  doubt  my  word 
one  moment,  if  I  did.  But  he  wished  us  to  stay 
here  a  year,  and  I  don't  want  to  disappoint  him. 
I'd  rather  stay.  And,  Mrs.  Florence,  I'm  sorry 
I  spoke  as  I  did  yesterday.  It  was  not  right ;  but 
I  was  angry,  and  felt  that  you  were  unjust." 

"  And  to-day  you  own  that  I  was  not  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  I  "  replied  Katy, "  I  can't  do  that.  You 
were  unjust,  because  neither  Clover  nor  I  wrote 
that  note.  We  wouldn't  do  such  a  horrid  thing 
for  the  world,  and  I  hope  some  day  you  will 
believe  us.  But  I  oughtn't  to  have  spoken  so." 

Katy's  face  and  voice  were  so  truthful  as  she 
said  this,  that  Mrs.  Florence  was  almost  shaken  ii* 
her  opinion. 

"  We  will  say  no  more  about  the  matter,"  she 


146  WHAT   KATY  DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

remarked,  in  a  kinder  tone.  "  If  your  conduct  is 
perfectly  correct  in  future,  it  will  go  far  to  make 
tliis  forgotten." 

Few  things  are  more  aggravating  than  to  be  for- 
given when  one  has  done  no  wrong.  Katy  felt 
this  as  she  walked  away  from  Mrs.  Florence's 
room.  But  she  would  not  let  herself  grow  angry 
again.  "  Live  it  down !  "  she  whispered,  as  she 
went  into  the  school-room. 

She  and  Clover  had  a  good  deal  to  endure  for 
the  next  two  or  three  weeks.  They  missed  their 
old  room  with  its  sunny  window  and  pleasant  out- 
look. They  missed  Rose,  who,  down  at  the  far 
end  of  Quaker  Row,  could  not  drop  in  half  so 
often  as  had  been  her  custom.  Miss  Jane  was 
specially  grim  and  sharp ;  and  some  of  the  up- 
stairs girls,  who  resented  Katy's  plain  speaking, 
and  the  formation  of  a  society  against  flirting,  im 
proved  the  chance  to  be  provoking.  Lilly  Page 
was  one  of  these.  She  didn't  really  believe  Katy 
guilty,  but  she  liked  to  tease  her  by  pretending  to 
believe  it. 

"  Only  to  think  of  the  President  of  the  Saintly 
Stuck-Up  Society  being  caught  like  this  I "  she 


INJUSTICE.  147 

remarked,  maliciously.  "  What  are  our  great  re- 
formers coming  to  ?  Now  if  it  had  been  a  sinner 
like  me,  no  one  would  be  surprised  !  " 

All  this  naturally  was  vexatious.  Even  sunny 
Clover  shed  many  tears  in  private  over  her  morti- 
fications. But  the  girls  bore  their  trouble  bravely 
and  never  said  one  syllable  about  the  matter  in 
the  letters  home.  There  were  consolations,  too, 
mixed  witli  the  annoyances.  Rose  Red  clung  to 
her  two  friends  closely,  and  loyally  fought  their 
battles.  The  S.  S.  U.  C.  to  a  girl  rallied  round  its 
chief.  After  that  sad  Saturday  the  meetings  were 
resumed  with  as  much  spirit  as  ever.  Katy's 
steadiness  and  uniform  politeness  and  sweet  tem- 
per impressed  even  those  who  would  have  been 
glad  to  believe  a  tale  against  her,  and  hi  a 
short  time  the  affair  ceased  to  be  a  subject  for  dis- 
cussion, —  was  almost  forgotten,  in  fact,  except  for 
a  sore  spot  hi  Katy's  heart,  and  one  page  in  Rose 
Rod's  album ,  upon  which,  under  the  date  of  that 
fatal  day,  weie  written  these  words,  headed  by  a* 
appalling  skull  and  cross-bones  in  pen-and-ink :  — 

«  N.  B.  —  Pay  Miss  Jane  off." 


148  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CHANGES. 

[LOVER,  where's  Clover  ?  "  cried  Rose 
Red,  popping  her  head  into  the  school- 
room, where  Katy  sat  writing  her  com- 
position. "  Oh,  Katy!  there  you  are.  I  want  you 
too.  Come  down  to  my  room  right  away.  I've 
such  a  thing  to  tell  you !  " 

"  What  is  it?  TeU  me  too !  "  said  Bella  Ark- 
wright.  Bella  was  a  veritable  "  little  pitcher,"  of 
the  kind  mentioned  in  the  Proverb,  and  had  an 
insatiable  curiosity  to  know  every  thing  that  other 
people  knew. 

44  Tell  you,  Miss  ?  I  should  really  like  to  know 
why ! "  replied  Rose,  who  was  not  at  all  fond  of 
Bella. 

"  You're  real  mean,  and  real  unkind,"  whined 
Bella.  "  You  think  you're  a  great  grown-up  ladyf 


CHANGES.  149 

and  can  have  secrets.  But  you  ain't  I  You're  a 
little  girl  too,  —  most  as  little  as  me.  So  there ! " 

Rose  made  a  face  at  her,  and  a  sort  of  growl- 
ing rush,  which  had  the  effect  of  sending  Bella 
screaming  down  the  hall.  Then,  returning  to  tha 
school-room,  — 

"  Do  come,  Katy,"  she  said :  "  find  Clover,  and 
hurry  I  Really  and  truly  I  want  you.  I  feel  as 
if  I  should  burst  if  I  don't  tell  somebody  right 
away  what  I've  found  out." 

Katy  began  to  be  curious.  She  went  in  pursuit 
of  Clover,  who  was  practising  in  one  of  the  recita- 
tion-rooms, and  the  three  girls  ran  together  down 
Quaker  Row. 

"  Now,"  said  Rose,  locking  the  door,  and  push- 
ing forward  a  chair  for  Katy  and  another  for 
Clover,  "  swear  that  you  won't  tell,  for  this  is  a 
real  secret,  —  the  greatest  secret  that  ever  was,  and 
Mrs.  Florence  would  flay  me  alive  if  she  knew 
that  I  knew  I  "  She  paused  to  enjoy  the  effect  of 
her  words,  and  suddenly  began  to  snuff  the  air  in 
a  peculiar  manner. 

"  Girls,"  she  said,  solemnly,  "  that  little  wretch 
of  a  Bella  is  in  this  room.  I  am  sure  of  it " 


150  WHAT    KATY   DID    AT   SCHOOL. 

"  What  makes  you  think  so  ?  '  cried  the  others, 
surprised. 

"I  smell  that  dreadful  pomatum  that  she  puts 
on  her  hair !  Don't  you  notice  it  ?  She's  hidden 
somewhere."  Rose  looked  sharply  about  for  a 
minute,  then  made  a  pounce,  and  from  under  the 
bed  dragged  a  small  kicking  heap.  It  was  the 
guilty  Bella. 

"  What  were  you  doing  there,  you  bad  child  ?  " 
demanded  Rose,  seizing  the  kicking  feet  and  hold- 
ing them  fast. 

"  I  don't  care,"  blubbered  Bella,  "  you  wouldn't 
tell  me  your  secret.  You're  a  real  horrid  girl, 
Rose  Red.  I  don't  love  you  a  bit." 

"  Your  affection  is  not  a  thing  which  I  particularly 
pine  for,"  retorted  Rose,  seating  herself,  and  hold- 
ing the  culprit  before  her  by  the  ends  of  her  short 
pig-tails.  "  I  don't  want  little  girls  who  peep  and 
hide  to  love  me.  I'd  rather  they  wouldn't.  Now 
listen.  Do  you  know  what  I  shall  do  if  you  ever 
ccme  again  into  my  room  without  leave.  First,  I 
shall  cut  off  your  hair,  pomatum  and  all,  with  my 
pen-knife,"  •  -  Bella  screamed,  —  "  and  then  I'll 
turn  myself  into  a  bear — a  great  brown  bear — and 


CHANGES.  151 

eat  you  up !  "  Rose  pronounced  this  threat  with 
tremendous  energy,  and  accompanied  it  with  a 
snarl  which  showed  all  her  teeth.  Bella  roared 
with  fright,  twitched  away  her  pig-tails,  unlocked 
the  door  and  fled,  Rose  not  pursuing  her,  but  sit- 
ting comfortably  in  her  chair  and  growling  at  inter- 
vals, till  her  victim  was  out  of  hearing.  Then  she 
rose  and  bolted  the  door  again. 

"  How  lucky  that  the  imp  is  so  fond  of  that 
smelly  pomatum !  "  she  remarked  :  u  one  always 
knows  where  to  look  for  her.  It's  as  good  as  a 
bell  round  her  neck !  Now  for  the  secret.  You 
promise  not  to  tell  ?  Well,  then,  Mrs.  Florence  is 
going  away  week  after  next,  and,  what's  more,  — 
she's  going  to  be  married ! '' 

"  Not  really  !  "  cried  the  others. 

"  Really  and  truly.  She's  going  to  be  married 
to  a  clergyman." 

"  How  did  you  find  out  ?  " 

"  Why,  it's  the  most  curious  thing.  You  know 
mj  blue  lawn,  which  Miss  James  is  making.  This 
moming  I  went  to  try  it  on,  Miss  Barnes  with  me 
of  course,  and  while  Miss  James  was  fitting  the 
waist  Mrs.  Seccomb  came  in  and  sat  down  on  th§ 


152  WHAT   KATY   DID    AT  SCHOOL. 

sofa  by  Miss  Barnes.  They  began  to  talk,  and 
pretty  soon  Mrs.  Seccomb  said,  '  What  day  doea 
Mrs.  Florence  go  ? ' 

" '  Thursday  week,'  said  Miss  Barnes.  She  sort 
of  mumbled  it,  and  looked  to  see  if  I  were  listen- 
ing. I  wasn't ;  but  of  course  after  that  I  did,  — 
as  hard  as  I  could. 

" '  And  where  does  the  important  event  take 
place  ? '  asked  Mrs.  Seccomb.  She's  so  funny  with 
her  little  bit  of  a  mouth  and  her  long  words.  She 
always  looks  as  if  each  of  them  was  a  big  pill,  and 
she  wanted  to  swallow  it  and  couldn't. 

"  '  In  Lewisberg,  at  her  sister's  house,'  said  Miss 
Barnes.  She  mumbled  more  than  ever,  but  I 
heard. 

"  '  What  a  deplorable  loss  she  will  be  to  our 
limited  circle!'  said  Mrs.  Seccomb.  I  couldn't 
imagine  what  they  meant.  But  don't  you  think, 
when  I  got  home  there  was  this  letter  from  Sylvia, 
and  she  says,  '  Your  adored  Mrs.  Florence  is  going 
to  be  married.  I'm  afraid  you'll  all  break  your 
hearts  about  it.  Mother  met  the  gentleman  at  a 
party  the  other  night.  She  says  he  looks  clever, 
but  isn't  at  all  handsome,  which  is  a  pity,  for  Mrs. 


CHANGES.  158 

Florence  is  a  raving  beauty  in  iny  opinion.  He's 
an  excellent  preacher,  we  hear;  and  won't  she 
manage  the  parish  to  perfection  ?  How  shall  you 
like  being  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Mrs.  Nip- 
son  ?  '  Now  did  you  ever  hear  any  thing  so  droll 
in  your  life  ?  "  went  on  Rose,  folding  up  her  letter. 
"  Just  think  of  those  two  things  coming  together 
the  same  day  I  It's  like  a  sum  in  arithmetic,  with 
an  answer  which  4  proves  '  the  sum,  isn't  it  ?  " 

Rose  had  counted  on  producing  an  effect,  and 
she  certainly  was  not  disappointed.  The  girls 
could  think  and  talk  of  nothing  else  for  the  re- 
mainder of  that  afternoon. 

It  was  a  singular  fact  that  before  two  days  were 
over  every  scholar  in  the  school  knew  that  Mrs. 
Florence  was  going  to  be  married !  How  the 
secret  got  out,  nobody  could  guess.  Rose  pro- 
tested that  it  wasn't  her  fault,  —  she  had  been  a 
miracle  of  discretion,  a  perfect  sphinx;  but  there 
was  a  guilty  laugh  in  her  eyes,  and  Kat}  suspected 
that  the  sphinx  had  unbent  a  little.  Nothing  so 
exciting  had  ever  happened  at  the  Nunnery  before 
Some  of  the  older  scholars  were  quite  inconsolable, 
They  bemoaned  themselves,  and  got  together  in 
7» 


154  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

corners  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  woe.  Nothing  com- 
forted them  but  the  project  of  getting  up  a  "  testi- 
monial "  for  Mrs.  Florence. 

What  this  testimonial  should  be  caused  great 
discussion  in  the  school.  Everybody  had  a  differ- 
ent idea,  and  everj7body  was  sure  that  her  idea 
was  better  than  anybody's  else.  All  the  school 
contributed.  The  money  collected  amounted  to 
nearly  forty  dollars,  and  the  question  was,  What 
should  be  bought  ? 

Every  sort  of  thing  was  proposed.  Lilly  Page 
insisted  that  nothing  could  possibly  be  so  appro- 
priate as  a  bouquet  of  wax  flowers  and  a  glass 
shade  to  put  over  it.  There  was  a  strong  party 
in  favor  of  spoons.  Annie  Silsbie  suggested  "  a 
statue ; "  somebody  else  a  clock.  Rose  Red  was 
for  a  cabinet  piano,  and  Katy  had  some  trouble 
in  convincing  her  that  forty  dollars  would  not 
buy  one.  Bella  demanded  that  they  should  get 
44  an  organ." 

"You  can  go  along  with  it  as  monkey,"  said 
Rose,  which  remark  made  Bella  caper  with  indig- 
nation. 

At  last,  after  long  discussion  and  some  quarrel- 


CHANGES.  155 

ling,  a  cake-basket  was  fixed  upon.  Sylvia  Red- 
ding happened  to  be  making  a  visit  in  Boston,  and 
Rose  was  commissioned  to  write  and  ask  her  to 
select  the  gift  and  send  it  up  by  express.  The 
girls  could  hardly  wait  till  it  came. 

44 1  do  hope  it  will  be  pretty,  don't  you  ?  "  they 
said  over  and  over  again.  When  the  box  arrived, 
they  all  gathered  to  see  it  opened.  Esther  Dear- 
born took  out  the  nails,  half  a  dozen  hands  lifted 
the  lid,  and  Rose  unwrapped  the  tissue  paper  and 
displayed  the  basket  up  to  general  view. 

44  Oh,  what  a  beauty !  "  cried  everybody.  It 
was  woven  of  twisted  silver  wire.  Two  figures  of 
children  with  wings  and  garlands  supported  the 
handle  on  either  side.  In  the  middle  of  the  handle 
were  a  pair  of  silver  doves,  billing  and  cooing  in 
the  most  affectionate  way,  over  a  tiny  shield,  on 
which  were  engraved  Mrs.  Florence's  initials. 

44 1  never  saw  one  like  it!"  "Doesn't  it  look 
heavy  ?  "  4t  Rose  Red,  your  sister  is  splendid ! " 
cried  a  chorus  of  voices,  as  Rose,  highly  gratified, 
held  up  the  basket. 

44  Who  shall  present  it  ?  "  asked  Louisa  Agnew. 

4*  Rose  Red,"  said  some  of  the  girls. 


156  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  No,  indeed,  I'm  not  tall  enough,"  protested 
Rose,  "  it  must  be  somebody  who'd  kind  of  sweep 
into  the  room  and  be  impressive.  I  vote  for 
Katy." 

"  Oh,  no  I "  said  Katy,  shrinking  back,  "  I 
shouldn't  do  it  well  at  all.  Suppose  we  put  it 
to  vote." 

Ellen  Gray  cut  some  slips  of  paper,  and  each 
girl  wrote  a  name  and  dropped  it  into  a  box. 
When  the  votes  were  counted,  Katy's  name  ap- 
peared on  all  but  three. 

"  I  propose  that  we  make  this  vote  unanimous," 
said  Rose,  highly  delighted.  The  girls  agreed ; 
and  Rose,  jumping  on  a  chair,  exclaimed,  "  Three 
cheers  for  Katy  Carr !  keep  time,  girls,  —  one, 
two,  hip,  hip,  hurrah  I " 

The  hurrahs  were  given  with  enthusiasm,  for 
Katy,  almost  without  knowing  it,  had  become 
popular.  She  was  too  much  touched  and  pleased 
to  speak  at  first.  When  she  did,  it  was  to  protest 
against  her  election. 

"  Esther  would  do  it  beautifully,"  she  said, "  and  I 
think  Mrs.  Florence  would  like  the  basket  better  if 
she  gave  it.  You  know  ever  since  "  —  she  stopped. 


CHANGES.  157 

Even  now  she  could  not  refer  with  composure  to 
the  affair  of  the  note. 

"Oh!"  cried  Louisa,  "she's  thinking  of  that 
ridiculous  note  Mrs.  Florence  made  such  a  fusa 
about.  As  if  anybody  supposed  you  wrote  it, 
Katy !  I  don't  believe  even  Miss  Jane  is  such  a 
choose  as  that.  Any  way,  if  she  is,  that's  ono 
reason  more  why  you  should  present  the  basket, 
to  show  that  we  don't  think  so."  She  gave  Katy 
a  kiss  by  way  of  period. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  you're  chosen,  and  you  must  give 
it,"  cried  the  others. 

"Very  well,"  said  Katy,  extremely  gratified, 
"  what  am  I  to  say  ?  " 

"  We'll  compose  a  speech  for  you,"  replied  Rose, 
"  sugar  your  voice,  Katy,  and,  whatever  you  do, 
stand'  up  straight.  Don't  crook  over,  as  if  you 
thought  you  were  tall.  It's  a  bad  trick  you  have, 
child,  and  I'm  always  sorry  to  see  it,"  concluded 
Hose,  with  the  air  of  a  wise  mamma  giving  a 
lecture. 

It  is  droll  how  much  can  go  on  in  a  school  un- 
seen and  unsuspected  by  its  teachers.  Mrs.  Flor- 
ence never  dreamed  that  the  girls  had  guessed  hei 


158  WHAT    KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

secret.  Her  plan  was  to  go  away  as  if  for  a  visit, 
and  leave  Mrs.  Nipson  to  explain  at  her  leisure. 
She  was  therefore  quite  unprepared  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  Katy,  holding  the  beautiful  basket, 
which  was  full  of  fresh  roses,  crimson,  white,  and 
pink.  I  am  afraid  the  rules  of  the  S.  S.  U.  C. 
had  been  slightly  relaxed  to  allow  of  Rose  Red's 
getting  these  flowers ;  certainly  they  grew  no- 
where in  Hillsover  except  in  Professor  Seccomb's 
garden  I 

"  The  girls  wanted  me  to  give  you  this,  with  a 
great  deal  of  love  from  us  all,"  said  Katy,  feeling 
strangely  embarrassed,  and  hardly  venturing  to 
raise  her  eyes.  She  set  the  basket  on  the  table. 
"  We  hope  so  much  that  you  will  be  happy,"  she 
added  in  a  low  voice,  and  moved  toward  the  door. 
Mrs.  Florence  had  been  too  much  surprised  to 
gpeak,  but  now  she  called,  "  Wait !  Come  back 
a  moment." 

Katy  came  back.  Mrs.  Florence's  cheeks  were 
flushed.  She  looked  very  handsome.  Katy  almost 
thought  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes. 

"  Tell  the  girls  that  I  thank  them  very  much. 
Theii  present  is  beautiful.  I  shall  always  value 


CHANGES.  159 

it."  She  blushed  as  she  spoke,  and  Katy  blushed 
too.  It  made  her  shy  to  see  the  usually  composed 
Mrs.  Florence  so  confused. 

"  What  did  she  say?  What  did  she  say ?  "  de- 
manded the  others,  who  were  collected  in  groups 
round  the  school-room  door  to  hear  a  report  of  the 
interview. 

Katy  repeated  her  message.  Some  of  the  girls 
were  disappointed. 

"  Is  that  all  ?  "  they  said.  "  We  thought  she 
would  stand  up  and  make  a  speech." 

"  Or  a  short  poem,"  put  in  Rose  Red,  —  "a  few 
stanzas  thrown  off  on  the  spur  of  the  moment ;  like 
this,  for  instance :  — 

"  Thank  you,  kindly,  for  your  basket, 
Which  I  didn't  mean  to  ask  it ; 
But  I'll  very  gladly  take  it, 
And  when  'tis  full  of  cake,  it 
Will  frequently  remind  me 
Of  the  girls  I  left  behind  me ! " 

There  was  a  universal  giggle,  which  brought 
Miss  Jane  out  of  the  school-room. 

"  Order !  "  she  said,  ringing  the  bell.  "  Young 
ladies,  what  are  you  about?  Study  hour  hai 
begun." 


160  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

"  We're  so  sorry  Mrs.  Florence  is  going  away/' 
said  some  of  the  girls. 

"How  did  you  know  that  she  is  going?"  de- 
manded Miss  Jane,  sharply.  Nobody  answered. 

Next  day  Mrs.  Florence  left.  Katy  saw  her  go 
with  a  secret  regret. 

"  If  only  she  would  have  said  that  she  didn't 
believe  I  wrote  that  note  I  "  she  told  Clover. 

"  I  don't  care  what  she  believes  I  She's  a  stu- 
pid, unjust  woman  ! "  replied  independent  little 
Clover. 

Mrs.  Nipson  was  now  in  sole  charge  of  the  es- 
tablishment. She  had  never  tried  school-keeping 
before,  and  had  various  pet  plans  and  theories  of  her 
own,  which  she  had  only  been  waiting  Mrs.  Flor- 
ence's departure  to  put  into  practice. 

One  of  these  was  that  the  school  was  to  dine 
three  times  a  week  on  pudding  and  bread  and 
butter.  Mrs.  Nipson  had  a  theory,  —  very  con- 
venient and  economical  for  herself,  but  highly  dis- 
tasteful to  her  scholars,  —  that  it  was  injurioua 
for  young  people  to  eat  meat  every  day  in  hot 
weather. 

The    puddings   were   made   of   batter,   with   » 


CHANGES.  161 

sprinkling  of  blackberries  or  raisins.  Now,  rising 
at  six,  and  studying  four  hours  and  a  half  on  a 
light  breakfast,  has  a  wonderful  effect  on  the  appe- 
tite, as  all  who  have  tried  it  will  testify.  The 
poor  girls  would  go  down  to  dinner  as  hungry  as 
wolves,  and  eye  the  large,  pale  slices  on  their 
plates  with  a  wrath  and  dismay  which  I  cannot 
pretend  to  describe.  Very  thick  the  slices  were, 
and  there  was  plenty  of  thin,  sugared  sauce  to  eat 
with  them,  and  plenty  of  bread  and  butter ;  but, 
somehow,  the  whole  was  unsatisfying,  and  the 
hungry  girls  would  go  upstairs  almost  as  ravenous 
as  when  they  came  down.  The  second-table-ites 
were  always  hanging  over  the  balusters  to  receive 
them,  and  when  to  the  demand,  "  What  did  you 
have  for  dinner?"  "Pudding!"  was  answered,  a 
low  groan  would  run  from  one  to  another,  and  a 
general  gloom  seemed  to  drop  down  and  envelop 
the  party. 

It  may  have  been  in  consequence  of  this  experi- 
ence of  starvation  that  the  orders  for  Fourth  of  July 
were  that  year  so  unusually  large.  It  was  an  old  cus- 
tom in  the  school  that  the  girls  should  celebrate  the 
Nationa]  Independence  by  buying  as  many  goodies 


162  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

as  they  liked.  There  was  no  candy-shop  in  Hills- 
over,  so  Mrs.  Nipson  took  the  orders,  and  sent  to 
Boston  for  the  things,  which  were  charged  on  the 
bills  with  other  extras.  Under  these  blissful  cir- 
cumstances, the  girls  felt  that  they  could  afford  to 
be  extravagant,  and  made  out  their  lists  regard- 
less of  expense.  Rose  Red's,  for  this  Fourth,  ran 
thus :  — 

"  Two  pounds  of  Chocolate  Caramels. 

Two  pounds  of  Sugar  Almonds. 

Two  pounds  of  Lemon  Drops. 

Two  pounds  of  Mixed  Candy. 

Two  pounds  of  Maccaroons. 

A  dozen  Oranges. 

A  dozen  Lemons. 

A  drum  of  Figs. 

A  box  of  French  Plums. 

A  loaf  of  Almond  Cake." 

The  result  of  this  liberal  order  was  that,  after 
the  great  wash-baskets  of  parcels  had  been  dis- 
tributed, and  the  school  had  rioted  for  twenty- 
four  hours  upon  these  unaccustomed  luxuries, 
Rose  was  found  lying  on  her  bed,  ghastly  arid 
pallii 


CHANGES.  163 

"  Never  speak  to  me  of  any  thing  sweet  again 
so  long  as  I  live ! "  she  gasped.  "  Talk  of  vinegar, 
or  pickles,  or  sour  apples,  but  don't  allude  to 
sugai  in  any  form,  if  you  love  me !  Oh,  why, 
why  did  I  send  for  those  fatal  things?" 

In  time  all  the  candy  was  eaten  up,  and  the 
school  went  back  to  its  normal  condition.  Three 
weeks  later  came  College  Commencement. 

"Are  you  and  Clover  Craters  or  Symposiums?'* 
demanded  Lilly  Page,  meeting  Katy  in  the  hall, 
a  few  days  before  this  important  event. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  has  nobody  told  you  about  them?  They 
are  the  two  great  College  Societies.  All  the  girls 
belong  to  one  or  the  other,  and  make  the  wreaths 
to  dress  their  halls.  We  work  up  in  the  Gym- 
nasium ;  the  Crater  girls  take  the  east  side,  and 
the  Symposium  girls  the  west,  and  when  the 
wreaths  grow  too  long  we  hang  them  out  of  the 
windows.  It's  the  greatest  fun  in  the  world !  Bo 
a  Symposium,  do  !  I'm  one  !  " 

"  I  shall  have  to  think  about  it  before  deciding," 
said  Katy,  privately  resolving  to  join  Rose  Red's 
Society,  whichever  it  was.  The  Crater  it  proved 


164  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

to  be,  so  Katy  and  Clover  enrolled  themselves  with 
the  Craters.  Three  days  before  Commencement 
wreath -making  began.  The  afternoons  were 
wholly  given  up  to  the  work,  and,  instead  of  walk- 
ing or  piano  practice,  the  girls  sat  plaiting  oak- 
leaves  into  garlands  many  yards  long.  Baskets  of 
fresh  leaves  were  constantly  brought  in,  and  there 
was  a  strife  between  the  rival  Societies  as  to  which 
should  accomplish  most. 

It  was  great  fun,  as  Lilly  had  said,  to  sit  there 
amid  the  green  boughs,  and  pleasant  leafy  smells, 
a  buzz  of  gay  voices  in  the  air,  and  a  general  sense 
of  holiday.  The  Gymnasium  would  have  furnished 
many  a  pretty  picture  for  an  artist  during  those 
three  afternoons,  only,  unfortunately,  no  artist  was 
let  in  to  see  it. 

One  day,  Rose  Red,  emptying  a  basket,  lighted 
upon  a  white  parcel,  hidden  beneath  the  leaves. 

"  Lemon  drops ! "  she  exclaimed,  applying  a 
finger  and  thumb  with  all  the  dexterity  of  Jack 
Homer.  "  Here,  Crater  girls,  here's  something 
for  you!  Don't  you  pity  the  Symposiums?" 

But  next  day  a  big  package  of  peppermints 
appeared  in  the  Symposium  basket,  so  neither 


CHANGES.  165 

Society  could  boast  advantage  over  the  other. 
They  were  pretty  nearly  equal,  too,  in  the  quan- 
tity of  wreath  made, — the  Craters  measuring  nine 
hundred  yards,  and  the  Symposiums  nine  hundred 
and  two.  As  for  the  Halls,  which  they  were  taken 
over  to  see  the  evening  before  Commencement,  it 
was  impossible  to  say  which  was  most  beautifully 
trimmed.  Each  faction  preferred  its  own,  and 
President  Searles  said  that  both  did  the  young 
ladies  credit. 

They  all  sat  in  the  gallery  of  the  church  on 
Commencement  Day,  and  heard  the  speeches.  It 
was  very  hot,  and  the  speeches  were  not  exactly 
interesting,  being  on  such  subjects  as  "  The  Influ- 
ence of  a  Republic  on  Men  of  Letters,"  and  "  The 
Abstract  Law  of  Justice,  as  applied  to  Human 
Affairs  ;"  but  the  music,  and  the  crowd,  and  the 
spectacle  of  six  hundred  ladies  all  fanning  them- 
selves at  once,  were  entertaining,  and  the  girls 
would  not  have  missed  them  for  the  world.  Later 
in  the  day  another  diversion  was  afforded  them  by 
the  throngs  of  pink  and  blue  ladies  and  white- 
gloved  gentlemen  who  passed  the  house,  on  their 
way  to  the  President's  Levee ;  but  they  were  not 


16t>  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

allowed  to  enjoy  this  amusement  long,  for  Miss 
Jane,  suspecting  what  was  going  on,  went  from 
room  to  room,  and  ordered  everybody  summarily 
off  to  bed. 

With  the  close  of  Commencement  Day,  a  deep 
sleep  seemed  to  settle  over  Hillsover.  Most  of 
the  Professors'  families  went  off  to  enjoy  them- 
selves at  the  mountains  or  the  sea-side,  leaving 
their  houses  shut  up.  This  gave  the  village  a 
drowsy  and  deserted  air.  There  were  no  boys 
playing  balls  on  the  Common,  or  swinging  on  the 
College  fence  ;  no  look  of  life  in  the  streets.  The 
weather  continued  warm,  the  routine  of  study  and 
exercise  grew  dull,  and  teachers  and  scholars  alike 
Were  glad  when  the  middle  of  September  arrived, 
and  with  it  the  opening  of  the  autumn  vacation. 


CHANGES.  167 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  AUTUMN  VACATION. 

1HE  last  day  of  the  term  was  one  of  con- 
fusion. Every  part  of  the  house  was 
given  over  to  trunks  and  packing. 
Mrs.  Nipson  sat  at  her  desk  making  out  bills,  and 
listening  to  requests  about  rooms  and  room-mates. 
Miss  Jane  counted  books  and  atlases,  taking  note 
of  each  ink-spot  and  dog-eared  page.  The  girls 
ran  about,  searching  for  missing  articles,  deciding 
what  to  take  home  and  what  to  leave,  engaging 
each  other  for  the  winter  walks.  All  rules  were 
laid  aside.  The  sober  Nunnery  seemed  turned 
into  a  hive  of  buzzing  bees.  Bella  slid  twice  down 
the  baluster  of  the  front  stairs  without  being  re- 
proved, and  Rose  Red  threw  her  arm  round  Katy  a 
waist  and  waltzed  the  whole  length  of  Quakei 
Row. 


168  WHAT    KAT*    DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  I'm  so  happy  that  I  should  like  to  scream  f " 
she  announced,  as  their  last  whirl  brought  them 
up  against  the  wall.  "Isn't  vacation  just  lovely? 
Katy,  you  don't  look  half  glad." 

"  We're  not  going  home,  you  know,"  replied 
Katy,  in  rather  a  doleful  tone.  She  and  Clover 
were  not  so  enraptured  at  the  coming  of  vacation 
as  the  rest  of  the  girls.  Spending  a  month  with 
Mrs.  Page  and  Lilly  was  by  no  means  the  same 
thing  as  spending  it  with  papa  and  the  children. 

Next  morning,  however,  when  the  big  stage 
drove  up,  and  the  girls  crowded  in;  when  Mrs. 
Nipson  stood  in  the  door-way,  blandly  waving 
farewell,  and  the  maids  flourished  their  dusters 
out  of  the  upper  windows,  they  found  themselves 
sharing  the  general  excitement,  and  joining  heartily 
in  the  cheer  which  arose  as  the  stage  moved  away. 
The  girls  felt  so  happy  and  good-natured  that 
some  of  them  even  kissed  their  hands  to  Miss 
Jane. 

Such  a  wild  company  is  not  often  met  with  ou 
a  railroad  train.  They  all  went  together  as  far 
as  the  Junction  ;  and  Mr.  Gray,  Ellen's  father, 
who  had  been  put  in  charge  of  the  party  by  Mrs, 


THE   AUTUMN   VACATION.  169 

Nipson,  had  his  hands  full  to  keep  them  in  any 
sort  of  order.  He  was  a  timid  old  gentleman,  and, 
HS  Rose  suggested,  his  expression  resembled  that 
of  a  sedate  hen  who  suddenly  finds  herself  respon- 
sible for  the  conduct  of  a  brood  of  ducklings. 

"  My  dear,  my  dear !  "  he  feebly  remonstrated, 
"  would  you  buy  any  more  candy  ?  Do  you  not 
think  so  many  pea-nuts  may  be  bad  for  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  sir  !  "  replied  Rose,  "  they  never  hurt 
me  a  bit.  I  can  eat  thousands  I "  Then,  as  a 
stout  lady  entered  the  car,  and  made  a  motion 
toward  the  vacant  seat  beside  her,  she  rolled  her 
eyes  wildly,  and  said,  "  Excuse  me,  but  perhaps 
I  had  better  take  the  end  seat,  so  as  to  get  out 
easily  in  case  I  have  a  fit." 

"Fits  I  "  cried  the  stout  lady,  and  walked  away 
with  the  utmost  dispatch.  Rose  gave  a  wicked 
chuckle,  the  girls  tittered,  and  Mr.  Gray  visibly 
trembled. 

"  Is  she  really  afflicted  in  this  way  ?  "  he  whis- 
pered. 

"  Oh,  no,  papa  I  it's  only  Rose's  nonsense  I " 
apologized  Ellen,  who  was  laughing  as  hard  as 
the  rest.  But  Mr.  Gray  did  not  feel  comfortable, 

8 


170  WHAT  KATY  DID    AT  SCHOOL. 

and  he  was  very  glad  when  they  reached  the  Juno* 
tion,  and  half  of  his  troublesome  charge  departed 
on  the  branch  road. 

At  six  o'clock  they  arrived  in  Springfield.  Half 
a  dozen  papas  were  waiting  for  their  daughters, 
trains  stood  ready,  there  was  a  clamor  of  good- 
bys.  Mr.  Page  was  absorbed  by  Lilly,  who  kissed 
him  incessantly,  and  chattered  so  fast  that  he  had 
no  eyes  for  any  one  else.  Louisa  was  borne  away 
by  an  uncle,  with  whom  she  was  to  pass  the  night, 
and  Katy  and  Clover  found  themselves  left  alone. 
They  did  not  like  to  interrupt  Lilly,  so  they  re- 
treated to  a  bench,  and  sat  down  feeling  rather  left- 
out  and  home-sick ;  and,  though  they  did  not  say  so, 
I  am  sure  that  each  was  thinking  about  papa. 

It  was  only  for  a  moment.  Mr.  Page  spied 
them,  and  came  up  with  such  a  kind  greeting 
that  the  forlorn  feeling  fled  at  once.  They  were 
to  pass  the  night  at  the  Massasoit,  it  seemed ;  and 
he  collected  their  bags,  and  led  the  way  across  the 
street  to  the  hotel,  where  rooms  were  already  en- 
gaged for  them. 

"Now  for  waffles,"  whispered  Lilly,  as  they 
went  upstairs ;  and  when,  after  a  few  minutes 


THE   AUTUMN  VACATION.  171 

of  washing  and  brushing,  they  caine  down  again 
into  the  dining-room,  she  called  for  so  many  things, 
and  announced  herself  "starved"  in  such  a  tragical 
tone,  that  two  amused  waiters  at  once  flew  to  the 
rescue,  anu  devoted  themselves  to  supplying  her 
wants.  Waffle  after  waffle  —  each  hotter  and 
crisper  than  the  last  —  did  those  long-suffering 
men  produce,  till  even  Lilly's  appetite  gave  out, 
and  she  was  forced  to  own  that  she  could  not 
swallow  another  morsel.  This  climax  reached, 
they  went  into  the  parlor,  and  the  girl  3  sat  down 
in  the  window  to  watch  the  people  in  the  street, 
which,  after  quiet  Hillsover,  looked  as  brilliant 
and  crowded  as  Broadway. 

There  were  not  many  persons  in  the  parlor.  A 
grave-looking  couple  sat  at  a  table  at  some  dis- 
tance, and  a  pretty  little  boy  in  a  velvet  jacket 
was  playing  around  the  room.  He  seemed  about 
five  years  old  ;  and  Katy,  who  was  fond  of  chil- 
dren, put  out  her  hand  as  he  went  by,  caught  him, 
and  lifted  him  into  her  lap.  He  did  not  seem  shy, 
but  looked  her  in  the  face  composedly,  like  a  grown 
person. 

"What  is  your  name,  dear  ?  "  she  asked. 


172  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Daniel  D'Aubigny  Sparks,"  answered  the  little 
boy.  His  voice  was  prim  and  distinct. 

"  Do  you  live  at  this  hotel  ? " 

"  Yes,  ma'am.  I  reside  here  with  my  father 
and  mother." 

"  And  what  do  you  do  all  day  ?  Are  there  some 
other  little  boys  for  you  to  play  with  ?  " 

"I  do  not  wish  to  play  with  any  little  boys," 
replied  Daniel  D'Aubigny,  in  a  dignified  tone :  "  I 
prefer  to  be  with  my  parents.  To-day  we  have 
taken  a  walk.  We  went  to  see  a  beautiful  con- 
servatory outside  the  city.  There  is  a  Victoria 
Regia  there.  I  had  often  heard  of  this  wonder- 
ful lily,  and  in  the  last  number  of  the  London 
4  Musde '  there  is  a  picture  of  it,  represented  with 
a  small  negro  child  standing  upon  one  of  its  leaves. 
My  father  said  that  he  did  not  think  this  possible, 
out  when  we  saw  the  plant  we  perceived  that  the 
print  was  not  an  exaggeration.  Such  is  the  size 
of  the  leaf,  that  a  small  negro  child  might  very 
easily  be  supported  upon  it." 

"Oh,  my!"  cried  Katy,  feeling  as  if  she  had 
accidentally  picked  up  an  elderly  gentleman  or  a 
college  professor.  "  Pray,  how  old  are  you  ?  " 


THE  AUTUMN   VACATION.  178 

fc  Nearly  nine,  ma'am,"  replied  the  little  fellow, 
with  a  bow. 

Katy,  too  much  appalled  for  farther  speech,  lei 
him  slide  off  her  lap.  But  Mr.  Page,  who  w.is 
much  diverted,  continued  the  conversation;  ami 
Daniel,  mounting  a  chair,  crossed  his  short  legs, 
and  discoursed  with  all  the  gravity  of  an  old  mac. 
The  talk  was  principally  about  himself,  —  his  tastes, 
his  adventures,  his  ideas  about  art  and  science, 
Now  and  then  he  alluded  to  his  papa  and  mamma, 
and  once  to  his  grandfather. 

"  My  maternal  grandfather,"  he  said,  "  was  a 
remarkable  man.  In  his  youth  he  spent  a  great 
deal  of  time  in  France.  He  was  there  at  the  time 
of  the  French  Revolution,  and,  as  it  happened,  waa 
present  at  the  execution  of  the  unfortunate  Queen 
Marie  Antoinette.  This  of  course  was  not  inten- 
tional. It  chanced  thus.  My  grandfather  was  in 
a  barber's  shop,  having  his  hair  cut.  He  saw  a 
great  crowd  going  by,  and  went  out  to  ask  what 
was  the  cause.  The  crowd  was  so  immense  that 
he  could  not  extricate  himself;  he  was  carried 
along  against  his  will,  and  not  only  so,  but  waa 
forced  to  the  front  and  compelled  to  witness  every 


174  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

part  of  the  dreadful  scene.  He  has  often  told  my 
mother  that,  after  the  execution,  the  executioner 
held  up  the  queen's  head  to  the  people :  the 
eyes  were  open,  and  there  was  in  them  an  expres- 
sion, not  of  pain,  not  of  fear,  but  of  great  aston- 
ishment and  surprise." 

This  anecdote  carried  "  great  astonishment  and 
surprise  "  into  the  company  who  listened  to  it. 
Mr.  Page  gave  a  sort  of  chuckle,  and  saying,  "  By 
George !  "  got  up  and  left  the  room.  The  girls 
put  their  heads  out  of  the  window  that  they  might 
laugh  unseen.  Daniel  gazed  at  their  shaking 
shoulders  with  an  air  of  wonder,  while  the  grave 
couple  at  the  end  of  the  room,  who  for  some 
moments  had  been  looking  disturbed,  drew  near 
and  informed  the  youthful  prodigy  that  it  was  time 
for  him  to  go  to  bed. 

"  Good-night,  young  ladies,"  said  the  small  con- 
descending voice.  Katy  alone  had  "presence  of 
countenance  "  enough  to  return  this  salutation.  It 
was  a  relief  to  find  that  Daniel  went  to  bed  at  all. 

Next  morning  at  breakfast  they  saw  him  seated 
between  his  parents,  eating  bread  and  milk.  He 
r*owed  to  them  over  the  edge  of  the  bowl. 


TRE    AUTUMN    VACATION.  175 

"Dreadful  little  prig!  They  should  botllo  him 
in  spirits  of  wine  as  a  specimen.  It's  the  only 
thing  he'lJ  ever  be  fit  for,"  remarked  Mr, 
Page,  who  rarely  said  so  sharp  a  thing  about 
anybody. 

Louisa  joined  them  at  the  station.  She  was  to 
travel  under  Mr.  Page's  care,  and  Katy  was  much 
annoyed  at  Lilly's  manner  to  her.  It  grew  colder 
and  less  polite  with  every  mile.  By  the  time  they 
reached  Ashburn  it  was  absolutely  rude. 

"  Come  and  see  me  very  soon,  girls,"  said 
Louisa,  as  they  parted  in  the  station.  "  I  long  to 
have  you  know  mother  and  little  Daisy.  Oh, 
there's  papa  !  "  and  she  rushed  up  to  a  tall,  pleasant- 
looking  man,  who  kissed  her  fondly,  shook  handa 
with  Mr.  Page,  and  touched  his  hat  to  Lilly,  who 
scarcely  bowed  in  return. 

"Boarding-school  is  so  horrid,"  she  remarked, 
"  you  get  all  mixed  up  with  people  you  don't  want 
bo  know,  —  people  not  in  society  at  all." 

"  How  can  you  talk  such  nonsense  ? "  said  her 
father :  "  the  Agnews  are  thoroughly  respectable, 
and  Mr.  Agnew  is  one  of  the  cleverest  men  I 
know." 


176  WHAT   KATY  DTD   AT   SCHOOL 

Katy  was  pleased  when  Mr.  Page  said  thia,  but 
Lilly  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  looked  cross. 

"  Papa  is  so  democratic,"  she  whispered  to 
Clover,  "  he  don't  care  a  bit  who  people  are,  so 
long  as  they  are  respectable  and  clever/' 

"  Well,  why  should  he  ?  "  replied  Clover.  Lilly 
was  more  disgusted  than  ever. 

Ashburn  was  a  large  and  prosperous  town.  It 
was  built  on  the  slopes  of  a  picturesque  lull,  and 
shaded  with  fine  elms.  As  they  drovp  through 
the  streets,  Katy  and  Clover  caught  glimpses 
of  conservatories  and  shrubberies  and  beautiful 
houses  with  bay-windows  and  piazzas. 

"  That's  ours,"  said  Lilly,  as  the  carriage  turned 
in  at  a  gate.  It  stopped,  and  Mr.  Page  jumped 
out. 

"  Here  we  are,"  he  said.  "  Gently,  Lilly,  you'b 
hurt  yourself.  Well,  my  dears,  we're  very  glad  tc 
see  you  in  our  home  at  last." 

This  was  kind  and  comfortable,  and  the  girls 
were  glad  of  it,  for  the  size  and  splendor  of  the 
house  quite  dazzled  and  made  them  shy.  Thev 
had  never  seen  any  thing  like  it  before.  The  hall 
had  a  marble  floor,  and  busts  and  statues.  Large 


THE   AUTUMN   VACATION.  177 

rooms  opened  on  either  side  ;  and  Mrs.  Page,  who 
came  forward  to  receive  them,  wore  a  heavy  silk 
with  a  train  and  laces,  and  looked  altogether  as  if 
she  were  dressed  for  a  party. 

"  This  is  the  drawing-room,"  said  Lilly,  de- 
lighted to  see  the  girls  looking  so  impressed.  "  Isn't 
it  splendid  ?  "  And  she  led  the  way  into  a  stiff, 
chilly,  magnificent  apartment,  where  all  the  blinds 
were  closed,  and  all  the  shades  pulled  down,  and 
all  the  furniture  shrouded  in  linen  covers.  Even 
the  picture  frames  and  mirrors  were  sewed  up  in 
muslin  to  keep  off  flies  ;  and  the  bronzes  and  alabas- 
ter ornaments  on  the  chimney-piece  and  itagere 
gleamed  through  the  dim  light  in  a  ghostly  way. 
Katy  thought  it  very  dismal.  She  couldn't  imagine 
anybody  sitting  down  there  to  read  or  sew,  or  do 
any  thing  pleasant,  and  probably  it  was  not  in- 
tended that  any  one  should  do  so ;  for  Mrs.  Page 
soon  showed  them  out,  and  led  the  way  into  a 
smaller  room  at  the  back  of  the  hall. 

"  Well,  Katy,"  she  said,  "  how  do  you  like  Hills- 
over?" 

"  Very  well,  ma'am,"  replied  Katy  ;  but  she  did 
not  speak  enthusiastically. 

8* 


178  WHAT  KATY    DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Mrs.  Page,  shaking  her  head,  "  it 
takes  time  to  shake  off  home  habits,  and  to  learn  to 
get  along  with  young  people  after  living  with  older 
ones  and  catching  their  ways.  You'll  like  it  better 
as  you  go  on." 

Katy  privately  doubted  whether  this  was  true, 
but  she  did  not  say  so.  Pretty  soon  Lilly  offered 
to  show  them  upstairs  to  their  room.  She  took 
them  first  into  three  large  and  elegant  chambers, 
which  she  explained  were  kept  for  grand  company 
and  then  into  a  much  smaller  one  in  a  wing. 

"  Mother  always  puts  my  friends  in  here,"  she 
remarked :  "  she  says  it's  plenty  good  enough  for 
school-girls  to  thrash  about  in ! " 

"  What  does  she  mean  ?  "  cried  Clover,  indig- 
nantly, as  Lilly  closed  the  door.  "  We  don't 
thrash !  " 

UI  can't  imagine,"  answered  Katy,  who  wag 
vexed  too.  But  pretty  soon  she  began  to  laugh. 

"  People  are  so  funny !  "  she  said.  "  Never 
mind,  Clovy,  this  room  is  good  enough,  I'm  sure." 

"  Must  we  unpack,  or  will  it  do  to  go  down  in 
our  alpacas  ?  "  asked  Clover. 

*'  I  don't  know,"   replied  Katyv  in  a  doubtful 


THE   AUTUMN   VACATION.  179 

cone.  "  Perhaps  we  had  better  change  our  gowns. 
Cousin  Olivia  always  dresses  so  much!  Here's 
your  blue  muslin  right  on  top  of  the  trunk.  You 
might  put  on  that,  and  I'll  wear  my  purple." 

The  girls  were  glad  that  they  had  done  this,  font 
was  evidently  expected,  and  Lilly  had  dressed  her 
hair  and  donned  a  fresh  white  pique*.  Mrs.  Page- 
examined  their  dresses,  and  said  that  Clover's  was 
a  lovely  blue,  but  that  ruffles  were  quite  gone  out, 
and  every  thing  must  be  made  with  basques.  She 
supposed  they  needed  quantities  of  things,  and  she 
had  already  engaged  a  dressmaker  to  work  for 
them. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Katy,  "  but  I  don't  think  we 
need  any  thing.  We  had  our  winter  dresses  made 
before  we  left  home." 

"  Winter  dresses !  last  spring  !  My  dear,  what 
were  you  thinking  of  ?  They  must  be  completely 
out  of  fashion." 

"You  can't  think  how  little  Hillsover  people 
know  about  fashions,"  replied  Katy,  laughing. 

"  But,  my  dear,  for  your  own  sake  !  "  exclaimed 
Mrs,  Page,  distressed  by  these  lax  remarks.  "  I'll 
look  over  your  things  to-morrow  and  see  what  you 


J80  WHAT  KATY   DH>   AT   SCHOOL. 

Katy  did  not  dare  to  say  "  No,"  but  she  felt 
rebellious.  When  they  were  half  through  tea,  the 
door  opened,  and  a  boy  came  in. 

"  You  are  late,  Clarence,"  said  Mr.  Page,  while 
Mrs.  Page  frowned,  and  observed,  "  Clarence 
makes  a  point  of  being  late.  He  really  deserves 
to  be  made  to  go  without  his  supper.  Shut  the 
door,  Clarence.  O  mercy  !  don't  bang  it  in  that 
way.  I  wish  you  would  learn  to  shut  a  door 
properly.  Here  are  your  cousins,  Katy  and  Clover 
Carr.  Now  let  me  see  if  you  can  shake  hands  with 
them  like  a  gentleman,  and  not  like  a  ploughbor." 

Clarence,  a  square,  freckled  boy  of  thirteen,  with 
reddish  hair,  and  a  sort  of  red  sparkle  in  his  eyes, 
looked  very  angry  at  this  address.  He  did  not 
offer  to  shake  hands  at  all,  but  elevating  his  shoul- 
ders said,  "  How  d'you  do  ?  "  in  a  sulky  voice,  and 
sitting  down  at  the  table  buried  his  nose  without 
delay  in  a  glass  of  milk.  His  mother  gave  a  dis- 
gusted sigh. 

"What  a  boy  you  are!"  she  said.  "Your 
cousins  will  think  that  you  have  never  been  taught 
any  thing,  which  is  not  the  case  ;  for  I'm  sure  I've 
taken  twice  the  pains  with  you  that  I  have  with 


THE   AUTUMN    VACATION.  181 

Lilly.  Piay  excuse  him,  Katy.  It's  no  use  trying 
to  make  boys  polite  I  " 

"Isn't  it?"  said  Katy,  thinking  of  Phil  and 
Dorry,  and  wondering  what  Mrs.  Page  could  mean. 

"  Hullo,  Lilly  I "  broke  in  Clarence,  spying  hia 
sister  as  it  seemed  for  the  first  time. 

"How  d'you  do?"  said  Lilly,  carelessly.  "I 
was  wondering  how  long  it  would  be  before  you 
would  condescend  to  notice  my  existence." 

"  I  didn't  see  you." 

"  I  know  you  didn't.  I  never  knew  such  a  boy  I 
You  might  as  well  have  no  eyes  at  all." 

Clarence  scowled,  and  went  on  with  his  supper. 
His  mother  seemed  unable  to  let  him  alone. 
"  Clarence,  don't  take  such  large  mouthfuls  I 
Clarence,  pray  use  your  napkin !  Clarence,  your 
elbows  are  on  the  table,  sir !  Now,  Clarence,  don't 
try  to  speak  until  you  have  swallowed  all  that 
bread,"  —  came  every  other  moment.  Katy  felt 
very  sorry  for  Clarence.  His  manners  were  cer- 
tainly bad,  but  it  seemed  quite  dreadful  that 
public  attention  should  be  thus  constantly  called 
to  them. 

The  evening  was  rather  dull.     There  was  a  sort 


182  WHAT    KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

of  put-in-order-for-company  air  about  the  parlor, 
which  made  everybody  stiff.  Mrs.  Page  did  not 
sew  or  read,  but  sat  in  a  low  chair  looking  like  a 
lady  in  a  fashion  plate,  and  asked  questions  about 
Hillsover,  some  of  which  were  not  easy  to  answer, 
as,  for  example,  "  Have  you  any  other  intimate 
friends  among  the  school-girls  beside  Lilly  ? '" 
About  eight  o'clock  a  couple  of  young,  very  young, 
gentlemen  came  in,  at  the  sight  of  whom  Lilly, 
who  was  half  asleep,  brightened  and  became 
lively  and  talkative.  One  of  them  was  the  Mr. 
Hickman,  whose  father  married  Mr.  Page's  sister- 
in  law's  sister,  thus  making  him  in  some  mysterious 
way  a  "  first  cousin  "  of  Lilly's.  He  was  an  Arrow- 
mouth  student,  and  seemed  to  have  so  many  jokes 
to  laugh  over  with  Lilly  that  before  long  they  with- 
drew to  a  distant  sofa  where  they  conversed  in 
whispers.  The  other  youth,  introduced  as  Mr. 
Eels,  was  left  to  entertain  the  other  three  ladies, 
which  duty  he  performed  by  sucking  the  head  of 
his  cane  fn  silence  while  they  talked  to  him.  *  He 
too  was  an  Arrowmouth  Sophomore. 

In  the  midst  of  the  conversation,  the  door,  which 
utood  ajar,  opened  a  little  wider,  and  a  dog's  head 


THE  AUTUMN   VACATION.  188 

appeared,  followed  by  a  tail,  which  waggled  so 
beseechingly  for  leave  to  come  farther  that  Clover, 
who  liked  dogs,  put  out  her  hand  and  said,  "  Come 
here,  poor  fellow  I "  The  dog  ran  up  to  her  at 
once.  He  was  not  pretty,  being  of  a  pepper-and- 
salt  color,  with  a  blunt  nose  and  no  particular  sort 
of  a  tail,  but  he  looked  good-natured  ;  and  Clover 
fondled  him  cordially,  while  Mr.  Eels  took  his  cane 
out  of  his  mouth  to  ask,  "  What  kind  of  a  dog  is 
that,  Mrs.  Page  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  she  replied ;  while 
Lilly,  from  the  distance,  added  affectedly,  "Oh, 
he's  the  most  dreadful  dog,  Mr.  Eels.  My  brother 
picked  him  up  in  the  street,  and  none  of  us  know 
the  least  thing  about  him,  except  that  he's  the 
commonest  kind  of  dog, —  a  sort  of  cur,  I  believe." 

"  That's  not  true !  "  broke  in  a  stern  voice  from 
the  hall,  which  made  everybody  jump  ;  and  Katy, 
looking  that  way,  was  aware  of  a  vengeful  eye 
glaring  at  Lilly  through  the  crack  of  the  door. 
"  He's  a  very  valuable  dog,  indeed,  —  half  mastifl 
and  half  terrier,  with  a  touch  of  the  bull-dog,  —  so 
there.  Miss!" 

The  effect  of  this  remark  was  startling.     Lillj 


184  WHAT   KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL,. 

gave  a  scream ;  Mrs.  Page  rose,  and  hurried  to 
the  door ;  while  the  dog,  hearing  his  master's  voice, 
rushed  that  way  also,  got  before  her,  and  almost 
threw  her  down.  Katy  and  Clover  could  not  help 
laughing,  and  Mr.  Eels,  meeting  their  amused  eyes, 
removed  the  cane  from  his  mouth,  and  grew  con- 
versible. 

"  That  Clarence  is  a  droll  little  chap ! "  he  re- 
marked, confidentially.     "  Bright,  too !     He'd  be 
a  nice  fellow  if  he  wasn't  picked  at  so  much.     11 
never  does  a  fellow  any  good  to  be  picked  at,  - 
now  does  it,  Miss  Carr?" 

"  No  :  I  don't  think  it  does." 

"  I  say,"  continued  Mr.  Eels,  "  I've  seen  yoii 
young  ladies  up  at  Hillsover,  haven't  I  ?  Aren't 
you  both  at  the  Nunnery  ?  " 

"  Yes.     It's  vacation  now,  you  know." 

"  I  was  sure  I'd  seen  you.  You  had  a  room  OL 
the  side  next  the  President's,  didn't  you?  ) 
thought  so.  We  fellows  didn't  know  your  names 
so  we  called  you  «The  Real  Nuns.'" 

"Real  Nuns?" 

"  Yes,  because  you  never  looked  out  of  the 
window  at  us.  Real  nuns  and  sham  nuns, —  don't 


THE   AUTUMN   VACATION.  185 

you  see?  Almost  all  the  young  ladies  are  sham 
nuns,  except  you,  and  two  pretty  little  ones  in  the 
story  above,  fifth  window  from  the  end." 

"  Oh,  I  know ! "  said  Clover,  much  amused. 
"  Sally  Alsop,  you  know,  Katy,  and  Amy  Erskine. 
They  are  such  nice  girls  !  " 

"  Are  they  ?  "  replied  Mr.  Eels,  with  the  air  oi 
one  who  notes  down  names  for  future  reference. 
"  Well,  I  thought  so  Not  so  much  fun  in  them 
as  some  of  the  others,  I  guess  ;  but  a  fellow  likes 
other  things  as  well  as  fun.  I  know  if  my  sister 
was  there,  I'd  rather  have  her  take  the  dull  line 
than  the  other." 

Katy  treasured  up  this  remark  for  the  benefit 
of  the  S.  S.  U.  C.  Mrs.  Page  came  back  just 
then,  and  Mr.  Eels  resumed  his  cane.  Nothing 
more  was  heard  of  Clarence  that  night. 

Next  morning  Cousin  Olivia  fulfilled  her  threat 
of  inspecting  the  girls'  wardrobe.  She  shook  her 
head  over  the  simple,  untrimmed  merinos  and  thick 
cloth  coats. 

"  There's  no  help  for  it,"  she  said ;  "  but  it's  a 
great  pity.  You  would  much  better  have  waited, 
and  had  things  fresh.  Perhaps  it  may  be  possible 


186  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

to  match  the  merino,  and  have  some  sort  of  basque 
arrangement  added  on.  I  will  talk  to  Madame 
Chonfleur  about  it.  Meantime,  I  shall  get  one 
handsome  thick  dress  for  each  of  you,  and  have 
it  stylishly  made.  ThatT  at  least,  you  really 
need." 

Katy  was  too  glad  to  be  so  easily  let  off  to  raise 
objections.  So  that  afternoon  she  and  Clover  were 
taken  out  to  "  choose  their  material,"  Mrs.  Page 
said,  but  really  to  sit  by  while  she  chose  it  for 
them.  At  the  dressmaker's  it  was  the  same : 
they  stood  passive,  while  the  orders  were  given, 
and  every  thing  decided  upon. 

"Isn't  it  funny!"  whispered  Clover;  "but  I 
don't  like  it  a  bit,  do  you?  It's  just  like  Elsie 
saying  how  she'll  have  her  doll's  things  made." 

"  Oh,  this  dress  isn't  mine !  it's  Cousin  Olivia's  I  '* 
replied  Katy.  "  She's  welcome  to  have  it  trimmed 
just  as  she  likes  I " 

But  when  the  suits  came  home  she  was  forced 
to  be  pleased.  There  was  no  over-trimming,  no 
look  of  finery:  every  thing  fitted  perfectly,  and 
had  the  air  of  finish  which  they  had  noticed  and 
admired  in  Lilly's  clothes.  Katy  almost  forerot 


THE   AUTUMN   VACATION.  187 

that  she  had  objected  to  the  dresses  as  unnec- 
essary. 

"  After  all,  it  is  nice  to  look  nice,"  she  confessed 
to  Clover. 

Excepting  going  to  the  dressmaker's,  there  waa 
not  much  to  amuse  the  girls  during  the  first  half 
of  vacation.  Mrs.  Page  took  them  to  drive  now 
and  then,  and  Katy  found  some  pleasant  books  in 
the  library,  and  read  a  good  deal.  Clover  mean- 
time made  friends  with  Clarence.  I  think  his* 
heart  was  won  that  first  evening  by  her  attentions 
to  Guest  the  dog,  that  mysterious  composite,  "  half 
mastiff  and  half  terrier,  with  a  touch  of  the  bull- 
dog." Clarence  loved  Guest  dearly,  and  was 
gratified  that  Clover  liked  him ;  for  the  poor  ani- 
mal had  few  friends  in  the  household.  In  a  little 
while  Clarence  became  quite  sociable  with  her,  and 
tolerably  so  with  Katy.  They  found  him,  as  Mr. 
Eels  had  said,  "  a  bright  fellow,"  and  pleasant  and 
good-humored  enough  when  taken  in  the  right 
way.  Lilly  always  seemed  to  take  him  wrong, 
and  his  treatment  of  her  was  most  disagreeable, 
snappish,  and  quarrelsome  to  the  last  degree. 

"Much  you  don't  like  oranges!"  he 


188  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

day  at  dinner,  in  answer  to  an  innocent  remark  of 
hers.  "  Much !  I've  seen  you  eat  two  at  a  time, 
without  stopping.  Pa,  Lilly  says  she  don't  like 
oranges !  I've  seen  her  eat  two  at  a  time,  without 
stopping !  Much  ste  doesn't !  I've  seen  her  eat 
two  at  a  time,  without  stopping  !  "  He  kept  this 
up  for  five  minutes,  looking  from  one  person  to 
another,  and  repeating,  "  Much  she  don't !  Much  I " 
till  Lilly  was  almost  crying  from  vexation,  and 
even  Clover  longed  to  box  his  ears.  Nobody  was 
sorry  when  Mr.  Page  ordered  him  to  leave  the 
room,  which  he  did  with  a  last  vindictive  "  Much  I " 
addressed  to  Lilly. 

"  How  can  Clarence  behave  so  ? "  said  Katy, 
when  she  and  Clover  were  alone. 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Clover.  "  He's  such 
a  nice  boy,  sometimes  ;  but  when  he  isn't  nice,  he's 
the  horridest  boy  I  ever  saw.  I  wish  you'd  talk 
to  him,  Katy,  and  tell  him  how  dreadfully  it 
sounds  when  he  says  such  things." 

"  No,  indeed  I  He'd  take  it  much  better  from 
you.  You're  nearer  his  age,  and  could  do  it 
nicely  and  pleasantly,  and  not  make  him  feel  as 
if  he  were  being  scolded.  Poor  fellow,  he  get* 
plenty  of  that!" 


THE  AUTUMN   VACATION.  189 

Clover  said  no  more  about  the  subject,  but  she 
meditated.  She  had  a  good  deal  of  tact  for  so 
young  a  girl,  and  took  care  to  get  Clarence  into  a 
specially  amicable  mood  before  she  began  her  lec- 
ture. "  Look  here,  you  bad  boy,  how  could  you 
tease  poor  Lilly  so  yesterday?  Guest,  speak  up, 
sir,  and  tell  your  massa  how  naughty  it  was  I  " 

"  Oh,  dear  I  now  you're  going  to  nag  I  "  growled 
Clarence,  in  an  injured  voice. 

"No,  I'm  not,  —  not  the  least  in  the  world. 
I'll  promise  not  to.  But  just  tell  me,"  —  and 
Clover  put  her  hand  on  the  rough,  red-brown 
hair,  and  stroked  it, — "just  tell  me  why  you  'go 
for  to  do '  such  things  ?  They're  not  a  bit  nice." 

44  Lilly's  so  hateful ! "  grumbled  Clarence. 

"Well,  —  she  is  sometimes,  I  know,"  admitted 
Clover,  candidly.  "  But  because  she  is  hateful  is 
no  reason  why  you  should  be  unmanly." 

"  Unmanly  I  "  cried  Clarence,  flushing. 

"  Yes.  I  call  it  unmanly  to  tease  and  quarrel, 
and  contradict  like  that.  It's  like  girls.  They  do 
it  sometimes,  but  I  didn't  think  a  boy  would.  I 
thought  he'd  be  ashamed  !  " 

"  Doesn't  Dorry  ever  quarrel  or  tease  ?  "  asked 


190  WHAT   EAT*   DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

Clarence,  who  liked  to  hear  about  Clover's  brothers 
and  sisters. 

4 '  Not  now,  and  never  in  that  way.  He  used  to 
sometimes  when  he  was  little,  but  now  he's  real 
nice.  He  wouldn't  speak  to  a  girl  as  you  speak  to 
Lilly  for  any  thing  in  the  world.  He'd  think  it 
wasn't  being  a  gentleman." 

"  Stuff  about  gentleman,  and  all  that  I  "  retorted 
Clarence.  "  Mother  dings  the  word  in  my  ears 
tiUI  hate  it  I" 

"  Well,  it  is  rather  teasing  to  be  reminded  all 
the  time,  I  admit ;  but  you  can't  wonder  that  your 
mother  wants  you  to  be  a  gentleman,  Clarence. 
It's  the  best  thing  in  the  world,  I  think.  I  hope 
Phil  and  Dorry  will  grow  up  just  like  papa,  for 
eveiybody  says  he's  the  most  perfect  gentleman, 
and  it  makes  me  so  proud  to  hear  them." 

"But  what  does  it  mean  any  way ?  Mother 
says  it's  how  you  hold  your  fork,  and  how  you 
chew,  and  how  you  put  on  your  hat.  If  that's  all, 
I  don't  think  it  amounts  to  much." 

"  Oh,  that  isn't  all.  It's  being  gentle,  don't 
you  see?  Gentle  and  nice  to  everybody,  and  jusl 
as  polite  to  poor  people  as  to  rich  ones,"  said  do 


THE  AUTUMN  VACATION  191 

irer,  talking  fast,  in  her  eagerness  to  explain  her 
meaning, — "and  never  being  selfish,  or  noisy, 
or  pushing  people  out  of  their  place.  Forks,  and 
hats,  and  all  that,  are  only  little  ways  of  making 
one's  self  more  agreeable  to  other  people.  A  gen- 
tleman is  a  gentleman  inside,  —  all  through  I  Oh, 
I  wish  I  could  make  you  see  what  I  mean ! " 

"  Oh,  that's  it,  is  it  ?  "  said  Clarence.  Whether 
he  understood  or  not,  Clover  could  not  tell ;  or 
whether  she  had  done  any  good  or  not ;  but  she 
had  the  discretion  to  say  no  more ;  and  certainly 
Clarence  was  not  offended,  for  after  that  day  he 
grew  fonder  of  her  than  ever.  Lilly  became  abso- 
lutely jealous.  She  had  never  cared  particularly 
for  Clarence's  affection,  but  she  did  not  like  to 
have  any  one  preferred  above  herself. 

"It's  pretty  hard,  I  think,"  she  told  Clover- 
"  Clare  does  every  thing  you  tell  him,  and  he  treats 
me  awfully.  It  isn't  a  bit  fair  I  I'm  his  sister, 
and  you're  only  a  second  cousin." 

All  this  time  the  girls  had  seen  almost  nothing 
of  Louisa  Agnew.  She  called  once,  but  Lilly 
received  the  call  with  them,  and  was  so  cool  and 
stiff  that  Louisa  grew  stiff  also,  and  made  but  a 


192  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

short  stay ;  and  when  the  girls  returned  the  visit 
she  was  out.  A  few  days  before  the  close  of  the 
vacat'on,  however,  a  note  came  from  her. 

44  DEAR  KATY,  —  I  am  so  sorry  not  to  havo 
seen  more  of  you  and  Clover.  Won't  you  come 
and  spend  Wednesday  with  us?  Mamma  sends 
her  love,  and  hopes  you  will  come  early,  so  as  to 
have  a  long  day,  for  she  wants  to  know  you.  I 
long  to  show  you  the  baby  and  every  thing.  Do 
come.  Papa  will  see  you  home  in  the  evening. 
Remember  me  to  Lilly.  She  has  so  many  friends 
to  see  during  vacation  that  I  am  sure  she  will  for- 
give me  for  stealing  you  for  one  day. 

44  Yours  affectionately, 

44  LOUISA/ 

Katy  thought  this  message  very  politely  ex- 
pressed ,  but  Lilly,  when  she  heard  it,  tossed  her 
bead,  and  said  she  "  really  thought  Miss  Agnew 
might  let  her  name  alone  when  she  wrote  notes." 
Mrs.  Page  seemed  to  pity  the  girls  for  having  to 
go.  They  must,  she  supposed,  as  it  was  a  school- 
mate ;  but  she  feared  it  would  be  stupid  for  them. 
The  Agnews  were  queer  sort  of  people,  not  in 


THE  AUTUMN    VACATION.  193 

society  at  all.  Mr.  Agiiew  was  clever,  people 
said ;  but,  really,  she  knew  very  little  about  the 
family.  Perhaps  it  would  not  do  to  decline. 

Katy  and  Clover  had  no  idea  of  declining.  They 
sent  a  warm  little  note  of  acceptance,  and  on  the 
appointed  day  set  off  bright  and  early  with  a  good 
deal  of  pleasant  anticipation.  The  vacation  had 
been  rather  dull  at  Cousin  Olivia's.  Lilly  was  a 
good  deal  with  her  own  friends,  and  Mrs.  Page 
with  hers;  and  there  never  seemed  any  special 
place  where  they  might  sit,  or  any  thing  in  partic- 
ular for  them  to  do. 

Louisa's  home  was  at  some  distance  from  Mr. 
Page's,  and  in  a  less  fashionable  street.  It  looked 
pleasant  and  cosy  as  the  girls  opened  the  gate. 
There  was  a  small  garden  in  front  with  gay  flower- 
beds; and  on  the  piazza,  which  was  shaded  with 
vines,  sat  Mrs.  Agnew,  with  a  little  work-table  by 
her  side.  She  was  a  pretty  and  youthful-looking 
woman,  and  her  voice  and  smile  made  them  feel 
at  home  immediately. 

"  There  is  no  need  of  anybody  to  introduce 
you,"  she  said.  "  Lulu  has  described  you  so  often 
that  I  know  perfectly  well  which  is  Katy  and 

9 


194  WHAT   KATY   DID    AT  SCHOOL. 

which  Clover.  I  am  so  glad  you  could  come! 
Won't  you  go  right  in  my  bed-room  by  that  long 
window  and  take  off  your  things?  Lulu  has 
explained  to  you  that  I  am  lame  and  never  walk, 
so  you  won't  think  it  strange  that  I  do  not  show 
you  the  way.  She  will  be  here  in  a  moment. 
She  ran  upstairs  to  fetch  the  baby." 

The  girls  went  into  the  bed-room.  It  was  a 
pretty  and  unusual-looking  apartment.  The  fur- 
niture was  simple  as  could  be,  but  bed  and  toilet 
and  windows  were  curtained  and  frilled  with 
white,  and  the  walls  were  covered  thick  with  pict- 
ures, photographs,  and  pen-and-ink  sketches,  and 
water-color  drawings,  unframed,  most  of  them, 
and  just  pinned  up  without  regularity,  so  as  to 
give  each  the  best  possible  light.  It  was  an  odd 
way  of  arranging  pictures ;  but  Katy  liked  it,  and 
would  gladly  have  lingered  to  look  at  each  one, 
only  that  she  feared  Mrs.  Agnew  would  expect 
them  and  would  think  it  strange  that  they  did  not 
come  back. 

Just  as  they  went  out  again  to  the  piazza, 
Louisa  came  running  downstairs  with  her  little 
sister  in  her  arms. 


THE  AUTUMN   VACATION.  195 

"I  was  curling  her  hair,"  she  explained,  "  and 
did  not  hear  you  come  in.  Daisy,  give  Katy  a  kiss. 
Now  another  for  Clover.  Isn't  she  a  darling  ? '" 
embracing  the  child  rapturously  herself,  "  no\v 
isn't  she  a  little  beauty  ?  " 

"Perfectly  lovely!"  cried  the  others,  and  soon 
All  three  were  seated  on  the  floor  of  the  piazza, 
with  Daisy  in  the  midst,  passing  her  from  hand 
to  hand  as  if  she  had  been  something  good  to 
eat.  She  was  used  to  it,  and  submitted  with  per- 
fect good,  nature  to  being  kissed,  trotted,  carried 
up  and  down,  and  generally  made  love  to.  Mrs. 
Agnew  sat  by  and  laughed  at  the  spectacle.  When 
Baby  was  taken  off  for  her  noonday  nap,  Louisa 
took  the  girls  into  the  parlor,  another  odd  and 
•  pretty  room,  full  of  prints  and  sketches,  and  pict- 
ures of  all  sorts,  some  with  frames,  others  with  a 
knot  of  autumn  leaves  or  a  twist  of  ivy  around 
them  by  way  of  a  finish.  There  was  a  bowl  of 
beautiful  autumn  roses  on  the  table ;  and,  though 
the  price  of  one  of  Mrs.  Page's  damask  curtains 
would  probably  have  bought  the  whole  furniture 
of  the  room,  every  thing  was  so  bright  and  home- 
like and  pleasant-looking  that  Katy's  heart  warmed 


196  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

at  the  sight.  They  were  examining  a  portrait  of 
Louisa  with  Daisy  in  her  lap,  painted  by  hei 
father,  when  Mr.  Agnew  came  in.  The  girls  liked 
his  face  at  once.  It  was  fine  and  frank ;  and 
nothing  could  be  prettier  than  to  see  him  pick  up 
his  sweet  invalid  wife  as  if  she  had  been  a  child, 
and  carry  her  into  the  dining-room  to  her  place  at 
the  head  of  the  table. 

Katy  and  Clover  agreed  afterward  that  it  was 
the  merriest  dinner  they  had  had  since  they  left 
home.  Mr.  Agnew  told  stories  about  painters  and 
painting,  and  was  delightful.  No  less  so  was  the 
nice  gossip  dpstairs  in  Louisa's  room  which  fol- 
lowed dinner,  or  the  afternoon  frolic  with  Daisy, 
or  the  long  evening  spent  in  looking  over  books 
and  photographs.  Altogether  the  day  seemed  only 
too  short.  As  they  went  out  of  the  gate  at  ten 
o'clock,  Mr.  Agnew  following,  lo !  a  dark  figure 
emerged  from  behind  a  tree  and  joined  Clover. 
It  was  Clarence ! 

"  I  thought  I'd  just  walk  this  way,"  he  explained, 
"  the  house  has  been  dreadfully  dull  all  day  with- 
out you." 


THE  AUTUMN   VACATION.  197 

Clover  was  immensely  fluttered,  but  Mrs.  Page's 
astonishment  next  d&y  knew  no  bounds. 

"  Really,"  she  said,  •'  I  have  hopes  of  Clarence  at 
last.  I  never  knew  him  volunteer  to  escort  any- 
body anywhere  before  in  his  life." 

"  I  say,"  remarked  Clarence,  the  evening  before 
the  girls  went  back  to  school,  —  "I  say,  suppose 
you  write  to  a  fellow  sometimes,  Clover." 

"  Do  you  mean  yourself  by 4  a  fellow '  ?  "  laughed 
Clover. 

"  You  don't  suppose  I  meant  George  Hickman 
or  that  donkey  of  an  Eels,  did  you  ? "  retorted 
Clarence. 

"  No,  I  didn't.  Well,  I've  no  objection  to  writ- 
ing to  a  fellow,  if  that  fellow  is  you,  provided  the 
fellow  answers  my  letters.  Will  you?  " 

"Yes,"  gruffly,  "but  you  mustn't  show  'em  to 
any  girls  or  laugh  at  my  writing,  or  I'll  stop.  Lilly 
says  my  writing  is  like  beetle  tracks.  Little  she 
knows  about  it  though  !  I  don't  write  to  her ! 
Promise,  Clover  I  " 

"  Yes,  I  promise,"  said  Clover,  pleased  at  the 
notion  of  Clare's  proposing  a  correspondence  of  hii 


198  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

own  accord.  Next  morning  they  all  left  for  Hills- 
over.  Clarence's  friendship  and  the  remembrance 
of  their  day  with  the  Agnews  were  the  pleasant- 
est  things  that  the  girls  carried  away  with  them 
from  their  autumn  vacation. 


A  BUDGET   OF   LETTEB8.  199 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  BUDGET   OF  LETTERS. 

"  HILLSOVER,  October  21st. 

"DEAREST  ELSIE,  —  I  didn't  write  you  last 
Saturday,  because  that  was  the  day  we  came  back 
to  school,  and  there  hasn't  been  one  minute  since 
when  I  could.  We  thought  perhaps  Miss  Jane 
would  let  us  off  from  the  abstracts  on  Sunday, 
because  it  was  the  first  day,  and  school  was  hardly 
begun;  and,  if  she  had,  I  was  going  to  write  to 
you  instead,  but  she  didn't.  She  said  the  only 
way  to  keep  girls  out  of  mischief  was  to  keep  them 
busy.  Rose  Red  is  sure  that  something  has  gone 
wrong  with  Miss  Jane's  missionary  during  the 
vacation,  —  she's  so  dreadfully  cross.  Oh,  dear, 
how  I  lo  hate  to  come  back  and  be  scolded  by  her 
again ! 

"I  forget  if  I   told  yo-;    about  tlie  abstracts-. 


200  WHAT   KA.TY  DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

They  are  of  the  sermons  on  Sunday,  you  know 
and  we  have  to  give  the  texts,  and  the  heads,  and 
as  much  as  we  can  remember  of  the  rest.  Some- 
times Dr.  Prince  begins,  '  I  shall  divide  my  sub- 
ject into  three  parts,'  and  tells  what  they  are 
going  to  be.  When  he  does  that,  most  of  the  girls 
take  out  their  pencils  and  put  them  down,  and 
then  they  don't  listen  any  more.  Katy  and  I  don't, 
for  she  says  it  isn't  right  not  to  listen  some.  Miss 
Jane  pretends  that  she  reads  all  the  abstracts 
through,  but  she  doesn't ;  for  once  Rose  Red,  just 
to  try  her,  wrote  in  the  middle  of  hers,  4 1  am 
sitting  by  my  window  at  this  moment,  and  a  red 
cow  is  going  down  the  street.  I  wonder  if  she 
is  any  relation  to  Mrs.  Seccomb's  cow  ? '  and  Miss 
Jane  never  noticed  it,  but  marked  her  'perfect' 
all  the  same.  Wasn't  it  funny  ? 

"But  I  must  tell  you  about  our  journey  back. 
Mr.  Page  came  all  the  way  with  us,  and  was  ever 
BO  nice.  Clarence  rode  down  in  the  carriage  to 
the  depot.  He  gave  me  a  real  pretty  india-rubber 
and  gold  pencil  for  a  good-by  present.  I  think 
you  and  Dorry  would  like  Clarence,  only  just  at 
first  you  might  say  he  was  rather  rude  and  cross. 


A  BUDGET  OF  LETTERS.  201 

I  did  ;  l>ut  now  I  like  him  ever  so  much.  Cousin 
Olivia  gave  Katy  a  worked  collar  and  sleeves,  and 
rne  an  embroidered  pocket-handkerchief  with  clo- 
ver-leaves in  the  corner.  Wasn't  it  kind  ?  I'm  sorry 
[  said  in  my  last  letter  that  we  didn't  enjoy  our 
vacation.  We  didn't,  much  ;  but  it  wasn't  exactly 
Cousin  Olivia's  fault.  She  meant  we  should,  but 
she  didn't  know  how.  Some  people  don't,  you 
know.  And  don't  tell  any  one  I  said  so,  will  you  ? 

"  Rose  Red  got  here  in  the  train  before  we  did. 
She  was  so  glad  when  we  came  that  she  cried.  It 
was  because  she  was  home-sick  waiting  four  hours 
at  the  Nunnery  without  us,  she  said.  Rose  is  such 
a  darling !  She  had  a  splendid  vacation,  and  went 
to  three  parties  and  a  picnic.  Isn't  it  queer  ?  her 
winter  bonnet  is  black  velvet  trimmed  with  pink, 
and  so  is  mine.  I  wanted  blue  at  first,  but  Cousin 
Olivia  said  pink  was  more  stylish ;  and  now  I  am 
glad,  because  I  like  to  be  like  Rose. 

44  Katy  and  I  have  got  No.  2  this  term.  It's  a 
great  deal  pleasanter  than  our  old  room,  and  the 
entry-stove  is  just  outside  the  door,  so  we  shall 
keep  warm.  There  is  sun,  too,  only  Mrs.  Nipson 
has  nailed  thick  cotton  over  all  the  window  except 

9« 


202  WHAT    KATY    DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

a  little  place  at  top.  Every  window  in  the  house 
is  just  so.  You  can't  think  how  niad  the  girls  are 
about  it.  The  first  night  we  had  an  indignation 
meeting,  and  passed  resolutions,  and  some  of  the 
girls  said  they  wouldn't  stay,  —  they  should  write 
to  their  fathers  to  come  and  take  them  home. 
Nona  of  them  did,  though.  It's  perfectly  forlorn, 
not  being  able  to  look  out.  Oh,  dear,  how  I  wish 
it  were  spring ! 

"  We've  got  a  new  dining-room.  It's  a  great 
deal  bigger  than  the  old  one,  so  now  we  all  eat 
together,  and  don't  have  any  first  and  second 
tables.  It's  ever  so  much  nicer,  for  I  used  to 
get  so  dreadfully  hungry  waiting  that  I  didn't 
know  what  to  do.  One  thing  is  horrid,  though  , 
and  that  is,  that  every  girl  has  to  make  a  remark 
in  French  every  day  at  dinner.  The  remarks  are 
about  a  subject.  Mrs.  Nipson  gives  out  the  sub- 
jects. To-day  the  subject  was  4  Les  oiseaux,'  and 
Rose  Red  said,  'J'aime  beaucoup  les  oiseaux,  et 
surtout  ceux  qui  sont  r6tis,'  which  made  us  all 
laugh.  That  ridiculous  little  Bella  Arkwright 
said,  4  J'aime  beaucoup  les  oiseaux  qui  sing.'  She 
thought  sing  was  French  I  Every  girl  in  school 


A  BUDGET  OF  LETTERS-  203 

btsgan, '  J'aime  beaucoup  les  oiseaux '  I  To-morrow 
the  subject  is  '  Jules  Cdsar.'  I'm  sure  I  don't 
know  what  to  say.  There  isn't  a  word  in  Ollen- 
dorf  about  him. 

"  There  aren't  so  many  new  scholars  this  term 
as  there  were  last.  The  girls  think  it  is  because 
Mrs.  Nipson  isn't  so  popular  as  Mrs.  Florence  used 
to  be.  Two  or  three  of  the  new  ones  look  pleasant, 
but  I  don't  know  them  yet.  Louisa  Agnew  is  the 
nicest  girl  here  next  to  Rose.  Lilly  Page  says  she 
is  vulgar,  because  her  father  paints  portraits  and 
they  don't  know  the  same  people  that  Cousin 
Olivia  knows,  but  she  isn't  a  bit.  We  went  to 
spend  the  day  there  just  before  we  left  Ashburn, 
and  her  father  and  mother  are  splendid.  Their 
house  is  just  full  of  all  sorts  of  queer,  interesting 
things,  and  pictures ;  and  Mr.  Agnew  told  us 
ever  so  many  stories  about  painters,  and  what  they 
did.  One  was  about  a  boy  who  used  to  make 
figures  of  lions  in  butter,  and  afterward  he  became 
famous.  I  forget  his  name.  We  had  a  lovety  time. 
I  wish  you  could  see  Lou's  little  sister  Daisy, 
She's  only  two,  and  a  perfect  little  beauty.  She 
hap  got  ten  teeth,  and  hardly  ever  cries 


204  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Please  ask  papa  "  — 

Just  as  Clover  had  got  to  this  point  she  was 
interrupted  by  Katy,  who  walked  in  with  her  hat 
on,  and  a  whole  handful  of  letters. 

"  See  here  !  "  she  cried.  "  Isn't  this  delightful  ? 
Miss  Marsh  took  me  with  her  to  the  Post-Office, 
and  we  found  these.  Three  for  you  and  two  for 
me,  and  one  for  Rose.  Wait  a  minute  till  I  give 
Rose  hers,  and  we'll  read  them  together." 

In  another  moment  the  two  were  cosily  seated 
with  their  heads  close  together,  opening  their 
budget.  First  came  one  from  papa. 

"  MY  DEAR  DAUGHTERS,"  — 
•  "  It's  for  you  too,  you  see,"  said  Katy. 

44  Last  week  came  your  letter  of  the  31st,  and 
we  were  glad  to  hear  that  you  were  well  and 
ready  to  go  back  to  school.  By  the  time  this 
reaches  you,  you  will  be  in  Hillsover,  and  youi 
winter  term  begun.  Make  the  most  of  it,  for  we 
all  feel  as  if  we  could  never  let  you  go  from  home 
again.  Johnny  says  she  shall  rub  Spalding's  Pre- 
pared Glue  all  over  your  dresses  when  you  come 


A    BUDGET   OF   LETTERS 


back,  so  that  you  cannot  stir.  I  am  a  little  of  the 
same  way  of  thinking  myself.  Cecy  has  returned 
from  boarding-school,  and  set  up  as  a  young  lad}-. 
EJsie  is  much  excited  over  the  party  dresses  which 
Mrs.  Hall  is  having  made  for  her,  and  goes  over 
every  day  to  see  if  any  thing  new  has  come.  I  am 
glad  on  this  account  that  you  are  away  just  now, 
for  it  would  not  be  easy  to  keep  steady  heads  and 
continue  your  studies,  with  so  much  going  on  next 
door.  I  have  sent  Cousin  Olivia  a  check  to  pay 
for  the  things  she  bought  for  you,  and  am  much 
obliged  to  her  for  seeing  that  you  were  properly 
fitted  out.  Katy  was  very  right  to  consider  ex- 
pense, but  I  wish  you  to  have  all  things  needful.  I 
enclose  two  ten-dollar  bills,  one  for  each  of  you, 
for  pocket-money  ;  and,  with  much  love  from  the 
children,  am,  "  Yours  affectionately, 

"P.  CABB. 

"  P.  S.  —  Cousin  Helen  has  had  a  sharp  attack, 
but  is  better." 

"  I  wish  papa  would  write  longer  letters,"  said 
Katy.     "  He  always  sends  us  money,  but  he  don'? 


206  WHAT   KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

send  half  enough  words  with  it."     She  folded  the 
letter,  and  fondled  it  affectionately. 

"  He's  always  so  busy,"  replied  Clover.  "  Don't 
you  remember  how  he  used  to  sit  down  at  his  desk 
and  scrabble  off  his  letters,  and  how  somebody 
always  was  sure  to  ring  the  bell  before  he  got 
through  ?  I'm  very  glad  to  have  some  money,  for 
now  I  can  pay  the  sixty-two  cents  I  owe  you.  It's 
my  turn  to  read.  This  is  from  Elsie,  and  a  real 
long  one.  Put  away  the  bills  first,  Katy,  or  they'll 
be  lost.  That's  right ;  now  we'll  begin  together." 

"  DEAR  CLOVER,  —  You  don't  know  how  glad 
I  am  when  my  turn  comes  to  get  a  letter  all  to 
myself.  Of  course  I  read  papa's,  and  all  the  rest 
you  write  to  the  family,  but  it  never  seems  as  if 
you  were  talking  to  me  unless  you  begin  'Dear 
Elsie.'  I  wish  some  time  you'd  put  in  a  little  note 
marked  '  private,'  just  for  me,  which  nobody  else 
need  see.  It  would  be  such  fun !  Please  do.  I 
should  think  you  would  have  hated  staying  at 
Cousin  Olivia's.  When  I  read  what  she  said 
about  your  travelling  dresses  looking  as  if  they 
!iad  come  out  of  the  Ark,  I  was  too  mad  for  any 


A  BUDGET   OF  LETT K US.  207 

tiling.  But  I  shouldn't  think  you'd  want  much  to 
go  back  to  school  either,  though  sometimes  it  must 
be  splendid.  John  has  named  her  old  stockinet 
doll,  which  she  used  to  call  'Scratch-face/  'Nippy,1 
after  Mrs.  Nipson;  and  I  made  her  a  muslin  cap, 
and  Dorry  drew  a  pair  of  black  spectacles  round 
her  eyes.  She  is  a  perfect  fright,  and  John  plays 
all  the  time  that  dreadful  things  happen  to  her. 
She  pricks  her  with  pins,  and  pretends  she  has  the 
ear-ache,  and  lets  her  tumble  down  and  hurt  her- 
self, till  sometimes  I  nearly  feel  sorry,  though  it's 
all  make-believe.  When  you  wrote  us  about  only 
having  pudding  for  dinner,  I  didn't  a  bit.  John 
put  her  into  the  rag-closet  that  very  day,  and  has 
been  starving  her  to  death  ever  since,  and  Phil 
says  it  serves  her  right.  You  can't  think  how 
awfully  lonely  I  sometimes  get  without  you.  If 
it  wasn't  for  Helen  Gibbs,  that  new  girl  I  told  you 
about,  I  shouldn't  know  what  to  do.  She  is  the 
prettiest  girl  in  Miss  McCrane's  school.  Her  hah 
curls  just  like  mine,  only  it  is  four  times  as  long 
and  a  million  times  as  thick,  and  her  waist  is  really 
and  truly  not  much  bigger  round  than  a  bed-post, 
We're  the  greatest  friends.  She  says  she  loves  me 


208  WHAT   KATY  DTD  AT   SCHOOL,. 

just  exactly  as  much  as  if  I  was  her  sister,  but  slie 
never  had  any  real  sisters.  She  was  quite  mad  the 
other  day  because  I  said  I  couldn't  love  her  quite 
so  well  as  you  and  Katy ;  and  all  recess-time  she 
wouldn't  speak  to  me,  but  now  we've  made  up. 
D^rry  is  so  awfully  in  love  with  her  that  I  never 
can  get  him  to  come  into  the  room  when  she  is 
here,  and  he  blushes  when  we  tease  him  about  her. 
But  this  is  a  great  secret.  Dorry  and  I  play  chess 
every  evening.  He  almost  always  beats  unless 
papa  comes  behind  and  helps  me.  Phil  has  learned 
too,  because  he  always  wants  to  do  every  thing 
that  we  do.  Dorry  gives  him  a  castle,  and  a  bishop, 
and  a  knight,  and  four  pawns,  and  then  beats  him 
in  six  moves.  Phil  gets  so  mad  that  we  can't  help 
laughing.  Last  night  he  buttoned  his  king  up  in- 
side his  jacket,  and  said,  *  There  !  you  can't  check- 
mate me  now,  any  way ! ' 

"  Cecy  has  come  home.  She  is  a  young  lady 
QOW.  She  does  her  hair  up  quite  different,  and 
wears  long  dresses.  This  winter  she  is  going  to 
parties,  and  Mrs.  Hall  is  going  to  have  a  party  foi 
her  on  Thursday,  with  real,  grown-up  young  ladies 
and  gentlemen  at  it.  Cecy  has  got  some  beautifu] 


A   BUDGET   OF   LETTERS.  209 

new  dresses,  —  a  white  muslin,  a  blue  tarlatan,  and 
a  pink  silk.  The  pink  silk  is  the  prettiest,  I  think 
Cecy  is  real  kind,  and  lets  me  see  all  her  things. 
She  has  got  a  lovely  breast-pin  too,  and  a  new 
fan  with  ivory  sticks,  and  all  sorts  of  things.  I 
wish  I  was  grown  up.  It  must  be  so  nice.  I  want 
to  tell  you  something,  only  you  mustn't  tell  any 
body  except  Katy.  Don't  you  remember  how  Cecy 
used  to  say  that  she  never  was  going  out  to  drive 
with  young  gentlemen,  but  was  going  to  stay  at 
home  and  read  the  Bible  to  poor  people  ?  Well, 
she  didn't  tell  the  truth,  for  she  has  been  out  three 
times  already  with  Sylvester  Slack  in  his  buggy. 
When  I  told  her  she  oughtn't  to  do  so,  because  it 
was  breaking  a  promise,  she  only  laughed,  and 
said  I  was  a  silly  little  girl.  Isn't  it  queer  ? 

"  I  want  to  tell  you  what  an  awful  thing  I  did 
the  other  night.  Maria  Avery  invited  me  to  tea, 
and  papa  said  I  might  go.  I  didn't  want  to  much, 
but  I  didn't  know  what  to  tell  Maria,  so  I  went. 
You  know  how  poor  they  are,  and  how  Aunt 
Lizzie  used  to  say  that  they  were  '  touchy,'  so  I 
thought  I  would  take  great  care  not  to  hurry  home 
right  after  tea,  for  fear  they  would  think  I  wasn't 


210  WHAT   KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

having  a  good  time.  So  I  waited,  and  waited,  and 
waited,  and  got  so  sleepy  that  I  had  to  pinch  my 
fingers  to  keep  awake.  At  last  I  was  sure  that  it 
must  be  almost  nine,  so  I  asked  Mr.  Avery  if  he'd 
please  take  me  home ;  and  don't  you  believe,  when 
we  got  there,  it  was  a  quarter  past  ten,  and  papa 
was  just  coming  for  me  !  Dorry  said  he  guessed  I 
must  be  enjoying  myself  to  stay  so  late.  I  didn't 
tell  anybody  about  it  for  three  days,  because  I 
knew  they'd  laugh  at  me,  and  they  did.  Wasn't 
it  funny?  And  old  Mrs.  Avery  looked  as  sleepy 
as  I  felt,  and  kept  yawning  behind  her  hand.  I 
told  papa  if  I  had  a  watch  of  my  own  I  shouldn't 
make  such  mistakes,  and  he  laughed,  and  said, 
4  We'll  see.'  Oh,  do  you  suppose  that  means 
that  he's  going  to  give  me  one? 

"  We  are  so  proud  of  Dorry's  having  taken  two 
prizes  at  the  examination  yesterday.  He  took  the 
second  Latin  prize,  and  the  first  Mathematics.  Dr. 
Pullman  says  he  thinks  Dorry  is  one  of  the  moat 
thorough  boys  he  ever  saw.  Isn't  that  nice  ?  The 
prizes  were  books :  one  was  the  Life  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  and  the  other  the  Life  of  General  Butler. 
Papa  says  he  doesn't  think  much  of  the  Life  of 


A  BUDGET   OF  LETTERS.  211 

Butler ;  but  Dorry  has  begun  it,  and  says  it  is 
splendid.  Phil  says  when  he  takes  a  prize  he 
wants  candy  and  a  new  knife ;  but  he'll  have  to 
wait  a  good  while  unless  he  studies  harder  than  he 
dues  now.  He  has  just  come  in  to  tease  me  to 
go  up  into  the  garret  and  help  him  to  get  down 
his  sled,  because  he  thinks  it  is  going  to  snow  ;  but 
there  isn't  a  sign  of  it,  and  the  weather  is  quite 
warm.  I  asked  him  what  I  should  say  for  him  to 
you,  and  he  said,  '  Oh, -tell  her  to  come  home,  and 
any  thing  you  please.'  I  said,  ;  Shall  I  give  her 
your  love,  and  say  that  you  are  very  well  ? '  and 
he  says,  '  Oh,  yes,  Miss  Elsie,  I  guess  you'd  think 
yourself  mighty  well  if  your  head  ached  as  much 
as  mine  does  every  day.'  Don't  be  frightened, 
however,  for  he's  just  as  fat  and  rosy  as  can  be ; 
but  almost  every  day  he  says  he  feels  sick  about 
school-time.  When  papa  was  at  Moorfield,  Miss 
Finch  believed  him,  and  let  him  stay  at  home  two 
nornings.  I  don't  wonder  at  it,  for  you  can  think 
what  a  face  he  makes  up  ;  but  he  got  well  so  fast 
that  she  pays  no  attention  to  him  now.  The  other 
day,  about  eleven  o'clock,  papa  met  him  coining 
along  the  road,  shying  stones  at  the  birds,  and 


212  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

making  lots  of  noise.  He  told  papa  he  felt  so 
sick  that  his  teacher  had  let  him  go  home ;  but 
papa  noticed  that  his  mouth  looked  sticky,  so  he 
opened  his  dinner-basket,  and  found  that  the  little 
scamp  had  eaten  up  all  his  dinner  on  the  road, 
corned  beef,  bread  and  butter,  a  great  piece  of 
mince  pie,  and  six  pears.  Papa  couldn't  help 
laughing,  but  he  made  him  turn  round  and  go  right 
back  to  school  again. 

"  I  told  you  in  my  last  about  Johnnie's  going  to 
school  with  me  now.  She  is  very  proud  of  it,  and 
is  always  talking  about  'Elsie's  and  my  school.' 
She  is  twice  as  smart  as  the  other  little  girls  of  her 
age.  Miss  McCrane  has  put  her  into  the  composi- 
tion class,  where  they  write  compositions  on  their 
slates.  The  first  subject  was,  '  A  Kitten  ; '  and 
John's  began,  4  She's  a  dear,  little,  soft,  scratching 
thing,  only  you'd  better  not  pull  her  by  the  tail, 
but  she's  real  cunning.'  All  the  girls  laughed, 
and  Johnnie  called  out,  *  Well,  it's  true,  anyhow.' 

41 1  can't  write  anymore,  for  I  must  study  my  Latin. 
Beside,  this  is  the  longest  letter  that  ever  was.  I 
have  been  four  days  writing  it.  Please  send  me 
one  just  as  long.  Old  Mary  and  the  children  aeud 


A    BUDGET   OF    LETTEKS.  213 

lots  of  love,  and  papa  says,  l  Tell  Katy  if  a  pudding 
diet  sets  her  to  growing  again  she  must  come  home 
at  once,  for  he  couldn't  afford  it.'  Oh,  dear,  how  I 
wish  I  could  see  you  !  Please  give  my  love  to 
Rose  Red.  She  must  be  perfectly  splendid. 

"  Your  affectionate  ELSIE." 

•'  Oh,  the  dear  little  duck  !  Isn't  that  just  like 
her  ?  "  said  Clover.  "  I  think  Elsie  has  a  real  genius 
for  writing,  don't  you?  She  tells  all  the  little 
things,  and  is  so  droll  and  cunning.  Nobody 
writes  such  nice  letters.  Who's  that  from,  Katy  ?  " 

"  Cousin  Helen,  and  it's  been  such  a  long  time 
coming.  Just  look  at  this  date  I  September  22,  a 
whole  month  ago  !  "  Then  she  began  to  read. 

"  DEAK  KATY,  —  It  seems  a  long  time  since  we 
have  had  a  talk,  but  I  have  been  less  well  lately,  so 
that  it  has  been  difficult  to  write.  Yesterday  I  sat 
up  for  the  first  time  in  several  weeks,  and  to-day  I 
Jim  dressed  and  beginning  to  feel  like  myself.  I 
wish  you  could  see  my  room  this  morning,  —  I  often 
wish  this,  —  but  it  is  so  particularly  pretty,  for  little 
Helen  has  been  in  with  a  great  basketful!  of  leav«§ 


214  «MAT    KATY    DID    AT   SCHOOL. 

and  flowers,  and  together  we  have  dressed  it  tc 
perfection.  There  are  four  vases  of  roses,  a 
bowl  full  of  chrysanthemums,  and  red  leaves 
round  all  my  pictures.  The  leaves  are  Virginia 
creeper.  It  doesn't  last  long,  but  is  lovely  while 
it  lasts.  Helen  also  brought  a  bird's  nest  which 
the  gardener  found  in  a  hawthorn-tree  on  the  lawn. 
It  hangs  on  a  branch,  and  she  has  tied  it  to  one 
side  of  my  bookshelves.  On  the  opposite  side  is 
another  nest  quite  different,  —  a  great,  gray  hornets' 
nest,  as  big  as  a  band -box,  which  came  from  the 
mountains  a  year  ago.  I  wonder  if  any  such  grow 
in  the  woods  about  Hillsover.  In  spite  of  the  red 
leaves,  the  day  is  warm  as  summer,  and  the  windows 
stand  wide  open.  I  suppose  it  is  cooler  with  you, 
but  I  know  it  is  delicious  cold.  Now  that  I  think 
of  it,  you  must  be  in  Ashburn  by  this  time.  I  hope 
you  will  enjoy  every  moment  of  your  vacation. 

"Oct.  19th.  I  did  not  finish  my  letter  the  day 
it  was  begun,  dear  Katy ,  and  next  morning  it  proved 
that  I  was  not  so  strong  as  I  fancied,  and  I  had  to 
go  to  bed  again.  I  am  still  there,  and,  as  ycu  see, 
writing  with  a  pencil ;  but  do  not  be  worried  about 
me,  for  the  doctor  says  I  am  mending,  and  soon  ] 


A  BUDGET  OF  LETTERS.  215 

hope  to  be  up  and  in  my  chair.  The  red  leaves  are 
gone,  but  the  roses  are  lovely  as  ever,  for  little 
Helen  keeps  bringing  me  fresh  ones.  She  has  just 
been  in  to  read  me  her  composition.  The  subject 
was  4  Stars,'  and  you  can't  think  how  much  she 
found  to  say  about  them.  She  is  a  bright  little 
creature,  and  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  teach  her. 
I  am  hardly  ever  so  sick  that  she  cannot  come  for 
her  lessons,  and  she  gets  on  fast.  We  have  made 
an  arrangement  that  when  she  knows  more  than  I 
do  she  is  to  give  me  lessons,  and  I  am  not  sure  that 
the  time  is  so  very  far  off. 

"  I  must  tell  you  about  my  Ben.  He  is  a  new 
canary  which  was  given  me  in  the  summer,  and 
lately  he  has  grown  so  delightfully  tame  that  I 
feel  as  if  it  were  not  a  bird  at  all,  but  a  fairy  prince 
come  to  live  with  me  and  amuse  me.  The  cage 
door  is  left  open  always  now,  and  he  flies  in  and 
out  as  he  likes.  He  is  a  restless,  inquisitive  fellow, 
and  visits  any  part  of  the  room,  trying  each  fresh 
thing  with  his  bill  to  see  if  it  is  good  to  eat,  and 
then  perching  on  it  to  see  if  it  is  good  to  sit  upon. 
He  mistakes  his  own  reflection  in  the  looking-glasa 
for  another  canary,  and  sits  on  the  pin-cushion 


216  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

twittering  and  making  love  to  himself  for  half  an 
hour  at  a  time.  To  watch  him  is  one  of  my  great- 
est amusements,  especially  just  now  when  I  am  in 
bed  so  much.  Sometimes  he  hides  and  keeps  so 
still  that  I  have  not  the  least  idea  where  he  is. 
But  the  moment  I  call,  4  Ben,  Ben,'  and  hold  out 
my  ringer,  wings  begin  to  rustle,  and  out  he  flies 
and  perches  on  my  finger.  He  isn't  the  least  bit 
in  the  world  afraid,  but  sits  on  my  head  or  shoul- 
der, eats  out  of  my  mouth,  and  kisses  me  with  hia 
beak.  He  is  on  the  pillow  at  this  moment  making 
runs  at  my  pencil,  of  which  he  is  mortally  jealous. 
It  is  just  so  with  my  combs  and  brushes  if  I  at- 
tempt to  do  my  hair :  he  cannot  bear  to  have  me 
do  any  thing  but  play  with  him.  I  do  wish  I 
could  show  him  to  you  and  Clover. 

"  Little  Helen,  my  other  pet,  has  just  come  in 
with  a  sponge  cake  which  she  frosted  herself.  She 
sends  her  love,  and  says  when  you  come  to  see  me 
next  summer  she  will  frost  you  each  one  just  like 
it.  Good-by,  my  Katy.  I  had  nothing  to  write 
about  and  have  written  it,  but  I  never  like  to  keep 
silent  too  long,  or  let  you  feel  as  if  you  wer« 
forgotten  by  your  loving  cousin,  HELEN." 


A   BUDGET   OF   LETTERS.  217 

"  P.  S.  Be  sure  to  wear  plenty  of  warm  wraps 
for  your  wiuter  walks.  And,  Katy,  dear,  you  must 
eat  meat  every  day.  Mrs.  Nipson  will  probably 
give  up  her  favorite  puddings  now  that  the  cold 
treather  has  begun  ;  but,  if  not,  write  to  papa." 

"Isn't  that  letter  Cousin  Helen  all  over?"  said 
Katy,  "so  little  about  her  illness,  and  so  bright 
and  merry,  and  yet  she  has  really  been  sick. 
Papa  says  4  a  sharp  attack.'  Isn't  she  the  dearest 
person  in  the  world,  next  to  papa  I  mean?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed.  There's  nobody  like  her.  I  do 
hope  we  can  go  to  see  her  next  summer.  Now 
it's  my  turn.  I  can't  think  who  this  letter  is 
from.  Oh,  Clarence  I  Katy,  I  can't  let  you  see  this. 
I  promised  Clare  that  I  wouldn't  show  his  letters  to 
anybody,  not  even  you !  " 

"  Oh,  very  well.  But  you've  got  another. 
Dorry,  isn't  it  ?  Read  that  first,  and  I'll  go  away 
and  leave  you  in  peace." 

So  Clover  read  :  — 

"  DEAR  CLOVER,  —  Elsie  says  she  is  going  to 
write  you  to-day ;  but  I  won't  stop,  because  next 

Saturday  I'm  going  out  fishing  with  the  Slacks 
10 


218  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

There  are  a  great  many  trout  now  in  Blue  Brook. 
Eugene  caught  six  the  other  day,  —  no,  five,  one 
was  a  minnow.  Papa  has  given  me  a  splendid 
rod,  it  lets  out  as  tall  as  a  house.  I  hope  I  shall 
catch  with  it.  Alexander  says  the  trout  will  ad- 
mire it  so  much  that  they  can't  help  biting ;  but 
he  was  only  funning.  Elsie  and  I  play  chess  most 
every  night.  She  plays  a  real  good  game  for  a 
girl.  Sometimes  pa  helps,  and  then  she  beats. 
Miss  Finch  is  well.  She  don't  keep  house  quite 
like  Katy  did,  and  I  don't  like  her  so  well  as  I  do 
you ,  but  she's  pretty  nice.  The  other  day  we  had 
a  nutting  picnic,  and  she  gave  me  and  Phil  a  loaf 
of  Election  cake  and  six  quince  turnovers  to  carry. 
The  boys  gave  three  cheers  for  her  when  they  saw 
them.  Did  Elsie  tell  you  that  I  have  invented  a 
new  machine  ?  It  is  called  '  The  Intellectual  Peach 
Parer.'  There  is  a  place  to  hold  a  book  while  you 
pare  the  peaches.  It  is  very  convenient.  I  don't 
think  of  any  thing  else  to  tell  you.  Cecy  has  got 
home,  and  is  going  to  have  a  party  next  week. 
She's  grown  up  now,  she  says,  and  she  wears  her 
hair  quite  different.  It's  a  great  deal  thicker  than 
it  used  to  be.  Elsie  says  it's  because  there  arc 


A    BUDGET  OF   LETTERS.  219 

rats  in  it ;  but  I  don't  believe  her.  Elsie  has  got 
a  new  friend.  Her  name  is  Helen  Gibbs.  She's 
quite  pretty. 

"  Your  affectionate  brother, 

"  DORBY 

"P.  S.  —  John  wants  to  put  in  a  note." 

John's  note  was  written  in  a  round  hand,  as 
easy  to  read  as  print. 

"DEAR  CLOVER,  —  I  am  well,  and  hope  you 
are  the  same.  I  wish  you  would  write  me  a  letter 
of  my  own.  I  go  to  school  with  Elsie  now.  We 
write  compossizions.  They  are  hard  to  write.  We 
don't  go  up  into  the  loft  half  so  much  as  we  used 
to  when  you  ware  at  home.  Mrs.  Worrett  came 
to  dinner  last  week.  She  says  she  ways  two  hun- 
dred and  atey  pounds.  I  should  think  it  would  be 
dredful  to  way  that.  I  only  way  76.  My  head 
comes  up  to  the  mark  on  the  door  where  you  ware 
mesured  when  you  ware  twelve.  Isn't  that  tal? 
Good-bye.  I  send  a  kiss  to  Katy. 

"  Your  loving  JOHN." 

After  thsy  had  finished  this  note,  Katy  went 
away,  leaving  Clover  to  open  Clarence's  letter 


220  WHAT   EAT*    DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

by  herself.     It  was  not  so  well  written  or  spelt  as 
Dorry's,  by  any  means. 

"  DEAR  CLOVER,  —  Don't  forget  what  you  prom- 
mised.  I  mene  about  not  showing  this.  And 
don't  tell  Lilly  I  rote.  If  you  do,  she'll  be  as  mad 
as  hops.  I  haven't  been  doing  much  since  you  went 
away.  School  begun  yesterday,  and  I  am  glad ; 
for  it's  awfully  dull  now  that  you  girls  have  gone. 
Mother  says  Guest  has  got  flees  on  him,  so  she 
won't  let  him  come  into  the  house  any  more.  I 
stay  out  in  the  barn  with  him  insted.  He  is  well, 
and  sends  you  a  wag  of  his  tail.  Jim  and  me  are 
making  him  a  colar.  It  is  black,  with  G.  P.  on 
it,  for  Guest  Page,  you  know.  A  lot  of  the  boys 
had  a  camping  out  last  week.  I  went.  It  was 
real  jolly ;  but  ma  wouldn't  let  me  stay  all  night, 
so  I  lost  the  best  part.  They  rosted  scullpins  for 
supper,  and  had  a  bon-fire.  The  camp  was  on 
Harstnet  Hill.  Next  time  you  come  I'll  take  you 
out  there.  Pa  has  gone  to  Mane  on  bizuess.  He 
said  I  must  take  care  of  the  house,  so  I've  bor- 
rowed Jim's  gun,  and  if  any  robers  come  I  mean 
to  shoot  them.  I  always  go  to  sleep  with  a  broom 


A   tfUDGET   OF    LETTERS.  221 

agenst  the  door,  so  as  to  wake  up  when  they  open 
it.  This  morning  I  thought  they  had  come,  for 
the  broom  was  gone,  and  the  gun  too  ;  but  it  was 
only  Briget.  She  opened  the  door,  and  it  fell 
down  ;  but  I  didn't  wake  up,  so  she  took  it  away, 
and  put  the  gun  in  the  closset.  I  was  mad,  I  can 
tell  you 

"  This  is  only  a  short  letter,  but  I  hope  you  will 
answer  it  soon.     Give  my  love  to  Katy,  and  tell 
Dorry  that  if  he  likes  I'll  send  him  my  compas  for 
his  machenery,  because  I've  got  two. 
"  Your  affectionate  Cousin, 

"  CLARENCE  PAGE." 

This  was  the  last  of  the  budget.  As  Clover 
folded  it  up,  she  was  dismayed  by  the  tinkle  of  the 
tea-bell. 

"  Oh,  dear  I "  she  cried,  "  there's  tea,  and  I  have 
not  finished  my  letter  to  Elsie.  Where  has  the 
afternoon  gone !  How  splendid  it  has  been  I  I 
wish  1  could  have  four  letters  every  day  as  long  at 
I  liva" 


WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL. 


CHAPTER  XL 

CHRISTMAS    BOXES. 

5TOBER  was  a  delightful  month,  deal 
and  sparkling;  but  early  in  November 
the  weather  changed,  and  became  very 
cold.  Thick  frosts  fell,  every  leaf  vanished  from 
the  woods,  in  the  gardens  only  blackened  stalks 
remained  to  show  where  once  the  summer  flowers 
had  been.  In  spite  of  the  stove  outside  the  door, 
No.  2  began  to  be  chilly;  more  than  once  Katy 
found  her  tooth-brush  stiff  with  ice  in  the  morning. 
ft  was  a  foretaste  of  what  winter  was  to  be,  and 
the  girls  shivered  at  the  prospect. 

Toward  the  end  of  November  Miss  Jane  caught 
a  heavy  cold.  Unsparing  of  herself  as  of  others, 
she  went  on  hearing  her  classes  as  usual ;  and  no- 
body paid  much  attention  to  her  hoarseness  and 
flushed  cheeks,  until  she  grew  so  much  worse  that 
she  was  forced  to  go  to  bed.  There  she  stayed  for 


CHRISTMAS   BOXES.  223 

nearly  four  weeks.  It  made  a  great  change  in  the 
school ;  and  the  girls  found  it  such  a  relief  to  have 
her  sharp  voice  and  eyes  taken  away  that  I  am 
afraid  they  were  rather  glad  of  her  illness  than 
otherwise. 

Katy  shared  in  this  feeling  of  relief.  She  did 
not  like  Miss  Jane ;  it  was  pleasant  not  to  have  to 
see  or  hear  of  her.  But  as  day  after  day  passed, 
and  still  she  continued  ill,  Katy's  conscience  began 
to  prick.  One  night  she  lay  awake  a  long  time, 
and  hea^d  Miss  Jane  coughing  violently.  Katy 
feared  she  was  very  sick,  and  wondered  who  took 
care  of  her  all  night  and  all  day.  None  of  the 
girls  went  near  her.  The  servants  were  always 
busy.  And  Mrs.  Nipson,  who  did  not  love  Miss 
Jane,  was  busy  too. 

In  the  morning,  while  studying  and  practising, 
Katy  caught  herself  thinking  over  this  question. 
At  last  she  asked  Miss  Marsh,  — 

"  How  is  Miss  Jane  to-day  ?  " 

"  About  the  same.  She  is  not  dangerously  ill, 
the  doctor  says ;  but  she  coughs  a  great  deal,  and 
has  some  fever. ' 

44  Is  anybody  sitting  with  her  ?  " 


224  WHAT  KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Oh,  no  I  there's  no  need  of  any  one.  Susan 
answers  the  bell,  and  she  has  her  medicine  on  the 
table  within  reach." 

It  sounded  forlorn  enough.  Katy  had  lived  in  a 
sick- room  so  long  herself  that  she  knew  just  how 
dreary  it  is  for  an  invalid  to  be  left  alone  with 
44  medicine  within  reach,"  and  some  one  to  answer 
a  bell.  She  began  to  feel  sorry  for  Miss  Jane,  and 
almost  without  intending  it  went  down  the  entry, 
and  tapped  at  her  door.  The  "  Come  in  I  "  sounded 
very  faint ;  and  Miss  Jane  as  she  lay  in  bed.  looked 
weak  and  dismal,  and  quite  unlike  the  sharp, 
terrible  person  whom  the  girls  feared  so  much. 
She  was  amazed  at  the  sight  of  Katy,  and  made  a 
feeble  attempt  to  hold  up  her  head  and  speak  as 
usual. 

"  What  is  it,  Miss  Carr  ?  " 

44 1  only  came  to  see  how  you  are,"  said  Katy, 
abashed  at  her  own  daring,  "you  coughed  so  much 
.ast  night  that  I  was  afraid  you  were  worse.  Isn't 
there  some  tiling  I  could  do  for  you  ?  " 

44  Thank  you,"  said  Miss  Jane,  "  you  are  very 
kind."  Think  of  Miss  Jane's  thanking  anybody, 
and  calling  anybody  kind  ! 


CHRISTMAS   BOXES. 

"  I  should  be  very  glad.  Isn't  there  any  thing?" 
repeated  Katy,  encouraged. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know :  you  might  put  anothei 
stick  of  wood  on  the  fire,"  said  Miss  Jane,  in  an 
ungracious  tone.  Katy  did  so;  and  seeing  that 
the  iron  cup  on  top  of  the  stove  was  empty,  she 
poured  some  water  into  it.  Then  she  took  a  look 
about  the  room.  Books  and  papers  were  scattered 
over  the  table ;  clean  clothes  from  the  wash  lay  on 
the  chairs ;  nothing  was  in  its  place ;  and  Katy, 
who  knew  how  particular  Miss  Jane  was  on  the 
subject  of  order,  guessed  at  the  discomfort  which 
this  untidy  state  of  affairs  must  have  caused  her. 

"Wouldn't  you  like  to  have  me  put  these 
away  ? "  she  asked,  touching  the  pile  of  clothes. 

Miss  Jane  sighed  impatiently,  but  she  did 
not  say  no;  so  Katy,  taking  silence  for  consent, 
opened  the  drawers,  and  laid  the  clothes  inside, 
guessing  at  the  right  places  with  a  sort  of  instinct, 
and  making  as  little  noise  and  bustle  as  possible. 
Next  she  moved  quietly  to  the  table,  where  she 
sorted  and  arranged  the  papers,  piled  up  the 
books,  and  put  the  pens  and  pencils  in  a  smal] 
tray  which  stood  there  for  the  purpose.  Lastly 
10* 


226  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT    toCHOOL. 

she  began  to  dust  the  table  with  her  pocket  hand- 
kerchief, which  proceeding  roused  Miss  Jane  at 
once. 

"  Don't,"  she  said,  "  there  is  a  duster  in  the 
c  ipboard." 

Katy  could  not  help  smiling,  but  she  found  the 
duster,  and  proceeded  to  put  the  rest  of  the  room 
into  nice  order,  laying  a  fresh  towel  over  the  bed- 
side table,  and  arranging  watch,  medicine,  and 
spjon  within  reach.  Miss  Jane  lay  and  watched 
b  jr.  I  think  she  was  as  much  surprised  at  her- 
self for  permitting  all  this,  as  Katy  was  at  being 
permitted  to  do  it.  Sick  people  often  consent 
because  they  feel  too  weak  to  object.  After  all,  it 
was  comfortable  to  have  some  one  come  in  and 
straighten  the  things  which  for  ten  days  past  had 
vexed  her  neat  eyes  with  their  untidiness. 

Lastly,  smoothing  the  quilt,  Katy  asked  if  Miss 
Jane  wouldn't  like  to  have  her  pillow  shaken 
up? 

"  I  don't  care,"  was  the  answer.  It  sounded 
discouraging;  but  Katy  boldly  seized  the  pillow, 
beat,  smoothed,  and  put  it  again  in  place.  Then 
she  went  out  of  the  room  as  noiselessly  as  she 


CHRISTMAS   BOXES.  227 

could,  Miss  Jane  never  saying,  "  Thank  you,'*  or 
seeming  to  observe  whether  she  went  or  stayed. 

Rose  Red  and  Clover  could  hardly  believe  their 
ears  when  told  where  she  had  been.  They  stared 
at  her  as  people  stare  at  Van  Amburgh  when  he 
comes  safely  out  of  the  lion's  den. 

u  My  stars ! "  exclaimed  Rose,  drawing  a  long 
breath.  "  You  didn't  really  ?  And  she  hasn't 
bitten  your  head  off! " 

"  Not  a  bit,"  said  Katy,  laughing.  "  What's 
more,  I'm  going  again." 

She  was  as  good  as  her  word.  After  that  she 
went  to  see  Miss  Jane  very  often.  Almost  always 
there  was  some  little  thing  which  she  could  do,  the 
fire  needed  mending,  or  the  pitcher  to  be  filled 
with  ice-water,  or  Miss  Jane  wanted  the  blinds 
opened  or  shut.  Gradually  she  grew  used  to 
seeing  Katy  about  the  room.  One  morning  she 
actually  allowed  her  to  brush  her  hair ;  and  Katy's 
touch  was  so  light  and  pleasant  that  afterwards 
Miss  Jane  begged  her  to  do  it  every  day. 

"  What  makes  you  such  a  good  nurse  ? "  she 
asked  one  afternoon,  rather  abruptly. 

44  Being  sick  myself,"  replied  Katy,  gently.  Then. 


228  WHAT    KATY   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

in  answer  to  farther  questioning,  she  told  of  hei 
foui  years'  illness,  and  her  life  upstairs,  keeping 
house  and  studying  lessons  all  alone  by  herself. 
Miss  Jane  did  not  say  any  thing  when  she  got 
through ;  but  Katy  fancied  that  she  looked  at  her 
in  a  new  and  kinder  way. 

So  time  went  on  till  Christmas.  It  fell  on  a 
Friday  that  year,  which  shortened  the  holidays  by 
a  day,  and  disappointed  many  of  the  girls.  Only 
a  few  wen;  home,  the  rest  were  left  to  pass  the 
time  as  best  they  might  till  Monday,  when  lessons 
were  to  begin  again. 

"It  isn't  much  like  merry  Christmas,"  sighed 
Clover  to  herself,  as  she  looked  up  at  the  un* 
cottoned  space  at  the  top  of  the  window,  and  saw 
great  snow-flakes  wildly  whirling  by.  No.  2  felt 
cold  and  dreary,  and  she  was  glad  to  exchange  it 
for  the  school-room,  round  whose  warm  stove  a 
cluster  of  girls  was  huddling.  Everybody  was  in 
bad  spirits ;  there  was  a  tendency  to  talk  about 
home,  and  the  nice  time  which  people  were  having 
there,  and  the  very  bad  time  they  themselves  were 
having  at  the  Nunnery. 

"  Isn't  it  mis-e-ra-ble  ?     I  shall  cry  all  night,  J 


CHRISTMAS    iiOXEB.  229 

know  I  shall,  I  am  so  homesick,"  gulped  Lilly, 
who  had  taken  possession  of  her  room-mate's 
shoulder  and  was  weeping  ostentatiously. 

"  I  declare,  you're  just  Mrs.  Gummidge  in 
4  David  Copperfield '  over  again,"  said  Rose.  "  You 
recollect  her,  girls,  don't  you?  When  the  por- 
ridge was  burnt,  you  know,  — 4  All  of  us  felt  the 
disappointment,  but  Mrs.  Gummidge  felt  it  the 
most.'  Isn't  Lilly  a  real  Mrs.  Gummidge,  girls  ?  " 

This  observation  changed  Lilly's  tears  into  anger. 
"  You're  as  hateful  and  as  horrid  as  you  can 
be,  Rose  Red,"  she  exclaimed  angrily.  Then  she 
flew  out  of  the  room,  and  shut  the  door  behind 
her  with  a  bang. 

"There!  she's  gone  upstairs  to  be  mad,"  said 
Louisa  Agnew. 

"I  don't  care  if  she  has,"  replied  Rose,  who 
was  in  a  perverse  mood. 

"  I  wish  you  hadn't  said  that,  Rosy,"  whispered 
Clover.  "  Lilly  really  felt  badly." 

"  Well,  what  if  she  did  ?  So  do  I  feel  badly, 
and  you,  and  the  rest  of  us.  Lilly  hasn't  taken 
out  a  patent  for  bad  feelings,  which  nobody  must 
infringe.  What  business  has  she  to  make  us  feel 


230  WHAT    KATY   DID    AT   SCHOOL. 

badder,  by  setting  up  to  be  so  much  worse  off  than 
the  rest  of  the  world  ?  " 

Clover  said  nothing,  but  went  on  with  a  boot 
she  was  reading.  In  less  than  ten  minutes,  Rose, 
whose  sun  seldom  stayed  long  behind  a  cload,  was 
at  her  elbow,  dimpling  and  coaxing. 

"  I  forgive  you,"  she  whispered,  giving  Clover's 
arm  a  little  pinch. 

"What  for?" 

"  For  being  in  the  right.  About  Lilly,  I  mean. 
I  was  rather  hateful  to  her,  I  confess.  Never  mind. 
When  she  comes  downstairs,  I'll  make  up.  She's 
a  crocodile,  if  ever  there  was  one ;  but,  as  she's 
your  cousin,  I'll  be  good  to  her.  Kiss  me  quick 
to  prove  that  you're  not  vexed." 

"  Vexed  indeed !  "  said  Clover,  kissing  the  mid- 
dle of  the  pink  cheek.  "  I  wonder  if  anybody 
ever  stayed  vexed  with  you  for  ten  minutes  to- 
gether, you  Rosy-Posy  you  ?  " 

"  Bless  you,  yes  !  Miss  Jane,  for  example.  She 
hates  me  like  poison,  and  all  the  time.  Well, 
what  of  it  ?  I  know  she's  sick,  but  I  '  can't  tel] 
a  lie,  pa,'  on  that  account.  Where's  Katy  ?  H 

"  Gone  in  to  see  her,  I  believe." 


CHRISTMAS   BOXES.  231 

"  One  of  these  days,"  prophesied  Rose,  solemnly, 
"  she'll  go  into  that  room,  and  she'll  never  come 
out  again !  Miss  Jane  is  getting  back  into  biting 
condition.  I  advise  Katy  to  be  careful.  What's 
that  noise  ?  Sleigh-bells,  I  declare  I  Girls,"  — 
mounting  a  desk,  and  peeping  out  of  the  win- 
dow, —  "  somebody's  got  a  big  box,  —  a  big  one  I 
Here's  old  Joyce  at  the  door,  with  his  sledge. 
Now  who  do  you  suppose  it  is?" 

"  It's  for  me.  I'm  sure  it's  for  me,"  cried  half 
a  dozen  voices. 

"  Bella,  my  love,  peep  over  the  balusters,  and 
see  if  you  can't  see  the  name,"  cried  Louisa ;  and 
Bella,  nothing  loath,  departed  at  once  on  this  con- 
genial errand. 

"  No,  I  can't,"  she  reported,  coming  back  from 
the  hall.  "  The  name's  tipped  up  against  the 
wall.  There's  two  boxes  I  One  is  big,  and  one 
is  little  1 " 

•*  Oh,  who  can  they  be  for  ?  "  clamored  the  girls. 
Half  the  school  expected  boxes,  and  had  been 
watching  the  storm  all  dav.  with  a  dreadful  feai 
that  it  would  block  the  roads,  and  delay  the  ex- 
pected treasures. 


WHAT    KAT5T   DID  AT  SCHOOL. 


At  this  moment  Mrs.  Nipson  came  in. 

"  There  will  be  the  usual  study-hour  this  even- 
ing," she  announced.  "  All  of  you  will  prepare 
lessons  for  Monday  morning.  Miss  Carr,  come 
here  for  a  moment,  if  you  please." 

Clover,  wondering,  followed  her  into  the  entry. 

"  A  parcel  has  arrived  for  you,  and  a  box,"  said 
Mrs.  Nipson.  "  I  presume  that  they  contain  articles 
for  Christmas.  I  will  have  the  nails  removed,  and 
both  of  them  placed  in  your  room  this  evening, 
but  I  expect  you  to  refrain  from  examining  them 
until  to-morrow.  The  vacation  does  not  open 
until  after  study-hour  to-night,  and  it  will  then 
be  too  late  for  you  to  begin." 

"Very  well,  ma'am,"  said  Clover,  demurely. 
But  the  minute  Mrs.  Nipson's  back  was  turned, 
she  gave  a  jump,  and  rushed  into  the  school- 
room. 

"O  girls,"  she  cried,  "what  do  you  think? 
Both  the  boxes  are  for  Katy  and  me!" 

"  Both  I  "  cried  a  disappointed  chorus. 

"  Yes,  both.  Mrs.  Nipson  said  so.  I'm  so  sorry 
for  you.  But  isn't  it  nice  for  us  ?  We've  never 
hac  a  box  from  home  before,  you  know;  and  1 


CHRISTMAS   BOXES.  238 

didn't  think  we  should,  it's  so  far  off.  It's  too 
lovely !  But  I  do  hope  yours  will  come  to- 
night" 

Clover's  voice  was  so  sympathizing,  for  «11  its 
glee,  that  nobody  could  help  being  glad  with 
her. 

"  You  little  darling !  "  said  Louisa,  giving  her  a 
hug.  "  I'm  rejoiced  that  the  box  is  yours.  The 
rest  of  us  are  always  getting  them,  and  you  and 
Katy  never  had  a  thing  before.  I  hope  it's  a  nice 
one ! " 

"  Oh,  it's  sure  to  be  nice  !  It's  from  home,  you 
know,"  responded  Clover,  with  a  happy  smile. 
Then  she  left  the  room  to  find  Katy,  and  tell 
the  wonderful  news. 

Study-hour  seemed  unusually  long  that  night 
The  minute  it  was  over,  the  sisters  ran  to  No.  2. 
There  stood  the  boxes,  a  big  wooden  one,  with  all 
the  nails  taken  out  of  the  lid,  and  a  small  paper 
one,  carefully  tied  up  and  sealed.  It  was  almost 
more  than  the  girls  could  do  to  obey  orders  and 
not  peep. 

"  I  feel  something  hard,"  announced  Clover, 
inserting  a  finger-tip  under  the  lid. 


234  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Oh,  do  you  ?  "  cried  Katy.  Then,  making  an 
heroic  effort,  she  jumped  into  bed. 

"  It's  the  only  way,"  she  said,  "  you'd  better 
come  too,  Clovy.  Blow  the  candle  out,  and  let's 
get  to  sleep  as  fast  as  we  can,  so  as  to  make  morn- 
ing come  quicker." 

Katy  dreamed  of  home  that  night.  Perhaps  it 
was  that  which  made  her  wake  so  early.  It  was 
not  five  o'clock,  and  the  room  was  perfectly  dark. 
She  did  not  like  to  disturb  Clover,  so  she  lay  per- 
fectly still,  for  hours  as  it  seemed,  till  a  faint  gray 
dawn  crept  in,  and  revealed  the  outlines  of  the 
big  box  standing  by  the  window.  Then  she  could 
wait  no  longer,  but  crept  out  of  bed,  crossed  the 
floor  on  tip-toe,  and  raising  the  lid  a  little  put  in 
her  hand.  Something  crumby  and  sugary  met  it, 
and  when  she  drew  it  out,  there,  fitting  on  her 
finger  like  a  ring,  was  a  round  cake  with  a  hole  in 
the  middle  of  it. 

"  Oh  !  it's  one  of  Debby's  jumbles  I  '  -she  ex- 
claimed. 

"  Where  ?  What  are  you  doing  ?  Give  me  one 
too  I  "  cried  Clover,  starting  up.  Katy  rummaged 
till  she  found  another,  then,  half  frozen,  she  ran 


CHRISTMAS   BOXES.  235 

back  to  bed  ;  and  the  two  lay  nibbling  the  jumbles, 
and  talking  about  home^  till  dawn  deepened  into 
daylight,  and  morning  was  fairly  come. 

Breakfast  was  half  an  hour  later  than  usual, 
which  was  comfortable.  As  soon  as  it  was  over, 
the  girls  proceeded  to  unpack  their  box.  The  day 
was  so  cold  that  they  wrapped  themselves  in  shawls, 
and  Clover  put  on  a  hood  and  thick  gloves.  Rose 
Red,  passing  the  door,  burst  out  laughing,  and 
recommended  that  she  should  add  india  rubbers 
and  an  umbrella. 

"  Come  in,"  cried  the  sisters,  —  "  come  in, 
and  help  us  open  our  box." 

"  Oh,  by  the  way,  you  have  a  box,  haven't  you?  " 
said  Rose,  who  was  perfectly  aware  of  the  impor- 
tant fact,  and  had  presented  herself  with  the  hope 
of  being  asked  to  look  on.  "  Thank  you,  but  per- 
haps I  would  better  come  some  other  time.  I 
shall  be  in  your  way." 

"  You  humbug  I  "  said  Clover,  while  Katy  seized 
Rose  and  pulled  her  into  the  room.  "  There,  sit 
on  the  bed,  you  ridiculous  goose,  and  put  on  my 
gray  cloak.  How  can  you  be  so  absurd  as  to  say 
}rou  won't?  You  know  we  want  you,  and  you 
know  you  came  on  purpose  I  " 


23(3  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL,. 

"  Did  I  ?  Well,  perhaps  I  did,"  laughed  Rose. 
Then  Katy  lifted  off  the  lid  and  set  it  against  the 
door.  It  was  an  exciting  moment. 

"  Just  look  here  !  "  cried  Katy. 

The  top  of  the  box  was  mostly  taken  up  with 
four  square  paper  boxes,  round  which  parcels  of 
all  shapes  and  sizes  were  wedged  and  fitted.  The 
whole  was  a  miracle  of  packing.  It  had  taken 
Miss  Finch  three  mornings,  with  assistance  from 
old  Mary,  and  much  advice  from  Elsie,  to  do  it  so 
beautifully. 

Each  box  held  a  different  kind  of  cake.  One 
was  full  of  jumbles,  another  of  ginger-snaps,  a  third 
of  crullers,  and  the  fourth  contained  a  big  square 
loaf  of  frosted  plum-cake,  with  a  circle  of  sugar 
almonds  set  in  the  frosting.  How  the  trio  ex- 
claimed at  this ! 

"  I  never  imagined  any  thing  so  nice,"  declared 
Rose,  with  her  mouth  full  of  jumble.  "  As  for 
those  snaps,  they're  simply  perfect.  What  can  be 
in  all  those  fascinating  bundles  ?  Do  hurry  and 
open  one,  Katy." 

Dear  little  Elsie  I  The  first  two  bundles  opened 
were  hers,  a  white  hood  for  Katy,  and  a  blue  one 


CHRISTMAS   BOXES.  287 

for  Clover,  both  of  her  own  knitting,  and  so  nicely 
done.  The  girls  were  enchanted. 

"How  she  has  improved  I"  said  Katy.  "She 
knits  better  than  either  of  us,  Clover." 

"  There  never  was  such  a  clever  little  darling  I  " 
responded  Clover,  and  they  patted  the  hoods,  tried 
them  on  before  the  glass,  and  spent  so  much  time 
in  admiring  them  that  Rose  grew  impatient. 

"I  declare,"  she  cried,  "it  isn't  any  of  my 
funeral,  I  know;  but  if  you  don't  open  another 
parcel  soon,  I  shall  certainly  fall  to  myself.  It 
seems  as  if,  what  with  cold  and  curiosity,  I 
couldn't  wait." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Katy,  laying  aside  her  hood, 
with  one  final  glance.  "  Take  out  a  bundle,  Clover. 
It's  your  turn." 

Clover's  bundle  was  for  herself,  "  Evangeline," 
in  blue  and  gold ;  and  pretty  soon  the  "  Golden 
Legend,"  in  the  same  binding,  appeared  for  Katy. 
Both  these  were  from  Dorry.  Next  came  a  couple 
of  round  packages  of  exactly  the  same  size.  These 
proved  to  be  inkstands,  covered  with  Russia  leather: 
one  marked,  "  Katy  from  Johnnie,"  and  the  other, 
*'  Clover  from  Phil."  It  was  evident  that  the 


238  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

children  had  done  their  shopping  together,  foi 
presently  two  long  narrow  parcels  revealed  carved 
pen-handles,  precisely  alike ;  and  these  were  la- 
belled, "Katy  from  Phil,"  and  "  Clover  from 
Johnnie." 

What  fun  it  was  opening  those  bundles !  The 
girls  made  a  long  business  of  it,  taking  out  but  one 
at  a  time,  exclaiming,  admiring,  and  exhibiting  to 
Rose,  before  they  began  upon  another.  They 
laughed,  they  joked,  but  I  do  not  think  it  would 
have  taken  much  to  make  either  of  them  cry.  It 
was  almost  too  tender  a  pleasure,  these  proofs  of 
loving  remembrance  from  the  little  ones ;  and  each 
separate  article  seemed  full  of  the  very  look  and 
feel  of  home. 

44  What  can  this  be  ?  "  said  Katy,  as  she  unrolled 
a  paper  and  disclosed  a  pretty  round  box.  She 
opened.  Nothing  was  visible  but  pink  cotton  wool. 
Katy  peeped  beneath,  and  gave  a  cry. 

"  O  Clovy !  Such  a  lovely  thing  I  It's  from 
papa,  —  of  course  it's  from  papa.  How  could  he  ? 
It's  a  great  deal  too  pretty." 

The  "  lovely  thing  "  was  along  slender  chain  for 
Katy's  watch,  worked  in  fine  yellow  gold.  Clovei 


CHRISTMAS    BOXES.  239 

admired  it  extremely ;  and  her  joy  knew  no  bounds 
when  farther  search  revealed  another  box  with  ft 
precisely  similar  chain  for  herself,  It  was  too 
much.  The  girls  fairly  cried  with  pleasure. 

"  There  never  was  such  a  papa  in  the  world  I  " 
they  said. 

"  Yes,  there  is.  Mine  is  just  as  good,"  declared 
Rose,  twinkling  away  a  little  tear-drop  from  her 
own  eyes.  "  Now  don't  cry,  honeys.  Your  papa's 
an  angel,  there's  no  doubt  about  it.  I  never  saw 
such  pretty  chains  in  my  life,  —  never.  As  for  the 
children,  they're  little  ducks.  You  certainly  are  a 
wonderful  family.  Katy,  I'm  dying  to  know  what 
is  in  that  blue  parcel." 

The  blue  parcel  was  from  Cecy,  and  contained  a 
pretty  blue  ribbon  for  Clover.  There  was  a  pink 
one  also,  with  a  pink  ribbon  for  Katy.  Everybody 
had  thought  of  the  girls.  Old  Mary  sent  them 
each  a  yard  measure  ;  Miss  Finch,  a  tliread-case, 
stocked  with  differently  colored  cottons.  Alexan- 
der had  cracked  a  bag  full  of  hickory  nuts. 

"Did  you  ever?"  said  Rose,  when  this  last 
was  produced.  "  What  a  thing  it  is  to  be  popular  I 
Mrs.  Hall?  Who's  Mrs.  Hall?"  as  Clover  un- 
wrapped a  tiny  carved  easel. 


240  WHAT    KATY    DID   AT    SCHOOL. 

"  She's  Cecy's  mother,"  explained  Clovei, 
"  Wasn't  she  kind  to  send  me  this,  Katy  ?  And 
here's  Cecy's  photograph  in  a  little  frame  for  you." 

Never  was  such  a  wonderful  box.  It  appeared 
io  have  no  bottom  whatever.  Under  the  presents 
were  parcels  of  figs,  prunes,  almonds,  raisins,  candy  ; 
under  those,  apples  and  pears.  There  seemed  no 
end  to  the  surprises. 

At  last  all  were  out. 

"  Now,"  said  Katy,  "  let's  throw  back  the  apples 
and  pears,  and  then  I  want  you  to  help  me  divide 
the  other  things,  and  make  up  some  packages  for  the 
girls.  They  are  all  so  disappointed  not  to  have 
their  boxes.  I  should  like  to  have  them  share 
ours.  Wouldn't  you,  Clover?" 

"  Yes,  indeed.     I  was  just  going  to  propose  it." 

So  Clover  cut  twenty-nine  squares  of  white  paper, 
Rose  and  Katy  sorted  and  divided,  and  pretty  soon 
ginger-snaps  and  almonds  and  sugar-plums  were 
walking  down  all  the  entries,  and  a  gladsome 
crunching  showed  that  the  girls  had  found  pleasant 
employment.  None  of  the  snowed-up  boxes  got 
through  till  Monday,  so  except  for  Katy  and  Clover 
the  school  would  have  had  no  Christmas  treat  at  alL 


CHRISTMAS  BOXES.  241 

They  carried  Mrs.  Nipson  a  large  slice  of  cake, 
and  a  basket  full  of  the  beautiful  red  apples.  All 
the  teachers  were  remembered,  and  the  servants. 
The  S.  S.  U.  C.  was  convened  and  feasted ;  and  as 
for  Rose,  Louisa,  and  other  special  cronies,  dainties 
were  heaped  upon  them  with  such  unsparing  hand 
that  they  finally  remonstrated. 

"  You're  giving  every  thing  away.  You'll  have 
none  left  for  yourselves." 

44  Yes,  we  shall,  —  plenty,"  said  Clover.  "  O 
Rosy !  here's  such  a  splendid  pear !  You  must 
have  this." 

44  No !  no ! "  protested  Rose ;  but  Clover  forced 
it  into  her  pocket. 

44  The  Carrs'  Box "  was  always  quoted  in  the 
Nunnery  afterward,  as  an  example  of  what  papas 
and  mammas  could  accomplish,  when  they  were  of 
the  right  sort,  and  really  wanted  to  make  school- 
girls happy.  Distributing  their  treasures  kept 
Katy  and  Clover  so  busy  that  it  was  not  until 
after  dinner  that  they  found  time  to  open  the 
smaller  box.  When  they  did  so,  they  were  sorry 
for  the  delay.  The  box  was  full  of  flowers,  roses* 

geranium-leaves,  heliotrope,  beautiful  red  and  white 
11 


242  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

carnations,  all  so  bedded  in  cotton  that  the  frost 
had  not  touched  them.  But  they  looked  chilled, 
and  Katy  hastened  to  put  them  in  warm  water, 
which  she  had  been  told  was  the  best  way  to  revive 
drooping  flowers. 

Cousin  Helen  had  sent  them ;  and  underneath, 
sewed  to  the  box,  that  they  might  not  shake  about 
and  do  mischief,  were  two  flat  parcels,  wrapped  in 
tissue  paper,  and  tied  with  white  ribbon,  in  Cousin 
Helen's  dainty  way.  They  were  glove-cases,  of 
quilted  silk,  delicately  scented,  one  white,  and  one 
lilac  ;  and  to  each  was  pinned  a  loving  note,  wish- 
ing the  girls  a  Merry  Christmas. 

"  How  awfully  good  people  are  !  "  said  Clover. 
"  I  do  think  we  ought  to  be  the  best  girls  in  the 
world." 

Last  of  all,  Katy  made  a  choice  little  selection 
from  her  stores,  a  splendid  apple,  a  couple  of  fine 
pears,  a  handful  of  raisins  and  figs,  and,  with  a 
few  of  the  freshest  flowers  in  a  wine-glass,  she 
went  down  the  Row  and  tapped  at  Miss  Jane's 
door. 

Miss  Jane  was  sitting  up  for  the  first  time, 
wrapped  in  a  shawl,  and  looking  very  thin  and 


CHRISTMAS    BOX  US.  243 

pale.  Katy,  who  had  almost  ceased  to  be  afraid  of 
her,  went  in  cheerily. 

"  We've  had  a  delicious  box  from  home,  Miss 
Jane,  full  of  all  sorts  of  things.  It  has  been  such 
fun  unpacking  it  I  I've  brought  you  an  apple, 
and  some  pears,  and  this  little  bunch  of  flowers. 
Wasn't  it  a  nice  Christmas  for  us  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Miss  Jane,  "  very  nice  indeed.  1 
heard  some  one  saying  in  the  entry  that  you  had  a 
box.  Thank  you,"  as  Katy  set  the  basket  and 
glass  on  the  table.  "  Those  flowers  are  very  sweet. 
I  wish  you  a  Merry  Christmas,  I'm  sure." 

This  was  much  from  Miss  Jane,  who  couldn't 
help  speaking  shortly,  even  when  she  was  pleased. 
Katy  withdrew  in  high  glee. 

But  that  night,  just  before  bed-time,  something 
happened  so  surprising  that  Katy,  telling  Clover 
about  it  afterward,  said  she  half  fancied  that  she 
must  have  dreamed  it  all.  It  was  about  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening :  she  was  passing  down 
Quaker  Row,  and  Miss  Jane  called  and  asked  her 
Lo  come  in.  Miss  Jane's  cheeks  were  flushed,  and 
she  spoke  fast,  as  if  she  had  resolved  to  say  some- 
thing, and  thought  the  'sooner  it  was  over  the 
better. 


244  WHAT  KATY   DID  AT  SCHOOL. 

"  Miss  Carr,"  she  began,  "  I  wish  to  tell  you  that 
1  made  up  my  mind  some  time  since  that  we  did 
you  an  injustice  last  term.  It  is  not  your  atten- 
tions to  me  during  my  illness  which  have  changed 
my  opinion,  —  that  was  done  before  I  fell  ill.  It  is 
your  general  conduct,  and  the  good  influence  which 
I  have  seen  you  exert  over  other  girls,  which  con- 
viiiced  me  that  we  must  have  been  wrong  about 
you.  That  is  all.  I  thought  you  might  like  to 
hear  me  say  this,  and  I  shall  say  the  same  to  Mrs. 
Nipson." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Katy,  "  you  don't  know  how 
glad  I  am  !  "  She  half  thought  she  would  kiss  Miss 
Jane,  but  somehow  it  didn't  seem  possible ;  so  she 
shook  hands  very  heartily  instead,  and  flew  to  her 
room,  feeling  as  if  her  feet  were  wings. 

"  It  seems  too  good  to  be  true.  I  want  to  cry,  I 
am  so  happy,"  she  told  Clover.  "  What  a  lovely 
day  this  has  been  I  " 

And  of  all  that  she  had  received,  I  think  Katy 
considered  this  explanation  with  Miss  Jane  as  hei 
very  best  Christmas  box. 


WAITING   FOIl   SPKING  24,/) 


CHAPTER 


WAITING   FOB   SPRING. 

[CHOOL  was  a  much  happier  place  after 
this.  Mrs.  Nipson  never  alluded  to  the 
matter,  but  her  manner  altered.  Katy 
felt  that  she  was  no  longer  watched  or  distrusted, 
and  her  heart  grew  light. 

In  another  week  Miss  Jane  was  so  much  better 
as  to  be  hearing  her  classes  again.  Illness  had  not 
changed  her  materially.  It  is  only  in  novels  that 
rheumatic  fever  sweetens  tempers,  and  makes  dis- 
agreeable people  over  into  agreeable  ones.  Most 
of  the  girls  disliked  her  as  much  as  ever.  Her 
tongue  was  just  as  sharp,  and  her  manner  as  grim. 
But  for  Katy,  from  that  time  forward,  there  was  a 
difference.  Miss  Jane  was  not  affectionate  to  her,  — 
it  was  not  in  her  nature  to  be  that,  —  but  she  was 
civil  and  considerate,  and,  in  a  dry  way,  friendly 


246  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

and  gradually  Katy  grew  to  have  an  odd  sort  of 
liking  for  her. 

Do  any  of  you  know  how  incredibly  long  winter 
seems  in  climates  where  for  weeks  together  the 
thermometer  stands  at  zero  ?  There  is  something 
hopeless  in  such  cold.  You  think  of  summer  as  of 
a  thing  read  about  somewhere  in  a  book,  but  which 
lias  no  actual  existence.  Winter  seems  the  only 
reality  in  the  world. 

Katy  and  Clover  felt  this  hopelessness  growing 
upon  them  as  the  days  went  on,  and  the  weather 
became  more  and  more  severe.  Ten,  twenty,  even 
thirty  degrees  below  zero,  was  no  unusual  regis- 
ter for  the  Hillsover  thermometers.  Such  cold 
half  frightened  them,  but  nobody  else  was  fright- 
ened or  surprised.  It  was  dry,  brilliant  cold.  The 
December  snows  lay  unmelted  on  the  ground  in 
March,  and  the  paths  cut  then  were  crisp  and  hard 
still,  only  the  white  walls  on  either  side  had  risen 
higher  and  higher,  till  only  a  moving  line  of  hoods 
and  tippets  was  visible  above  them,  when  the  school 
went  out  for  its  daily  walk.  Morning  after  morn- 
ing the  girls  woke  to  find  thick  crusts  of  frost  OD 
their  window-panes,  and  every  drop  of  water  is 


WAITING  FOE   8PKLNO  247 

wwsh-b<  wl  or  pitcher  turned  to  solid  ice.  Night 
after  night,  Clover,  who  was  a  chilly  little  creature, 
lay  shivering  and  unable  to  sleep,  notwithstanding 
the  hot  bricks  at  her  feet,  and  the  many  wraps 
which  Katy  piled  upon  her.  To  Katy  herself  the 
cold  was  more  bracing  than  depressing.  There 
was  something  in  her  blood  which  responded  to 
the  sharp  tingle  of  frost,  and  she  gained  in  strength 
in  a  remarkable  way  during  this  winter.  But  the 
long  storms  told  upon  her  spirits.  She  pined  for 
spring  and  home  more  than  she  liked  to  tell,  and 
felt  the  need  of  variety  in  their  monotonous  life, 
where  the  creeping  days  appeared  like  weeks,  and 
the  weeks  stretched  themselves  out,  and  seemed  as 
long  as  months  do  in  other  places. 

The  girls  resorted  to  all  sorts  of  devices  to  keep 
themselves  alive  during  this  dreary  season.  They 
had  little  epidemics  of  occupation.  At  one  time  it 
was  "  spattering,"  when  all  faces  and  fingers  had  a 
tendency  to  smudges  of  India  ink ;  and  there  wa^- 
hardly  a  fine  comb  or  tooth-brush  fit  for  use  in  the 
establishment.  Then  a  rage  for  tatting  set  hi,  fol- 
lowed by  a  fever  of  fancy-work,  every  one  falling 
in  love  with  the  same  pattern  at  the  same  time,  and 


°AS  WHAT   KATY    DID   AT    SCHOOL. 

copying  and  recopying,  till  nobody  could  bear  the 
sight  of  it.  At  one  tune  Clover  counted  eighteen 
girls  all  at  work  on  the  same  bead  and  canvas  pin- 
cushion. Later  there  was  a  short  period  of  decalco- 
manie  ;  and  then  came  the  grand  album  craze,  when 
thirty-three  girls  out  of  the  thirty-nine  sent  for 
blank  books  bound  in  red  morocco,  and  began  to 
collect  signatures  and  sentiments.  Here,  also,  there 
was  a  tendency  toward  repetition. 

Sally  Austin  added  to  her  autograph  these  lines 
of  her  own  composition  :  — 

When  on  this  page  your  beauteous  eyes  you  bend, 
Let  it  remind  you  of  your  absent  friend. 

SALLIE  J.  AUSTIN, 
Galveston,  Texas. 

The  girls  found  this  sentiment  charming,  at  least 
a  dozen  borrowed  it,  and  in  half  the  albums  in  the 
school  you  might  read,  — 

"  When  on  this  page  your  beauteous  eyes,"  &c. 

Esther  Dearborn  wrote  hi  Clover's  book :  "  The 
better  part  of  Valor  is  Discretion."  Why  she 
wrote  it,  nobody  knew,  or  why  it  was  more  appli- 
cable to  Clover  than  to  any  one  else ;  but  the  senti 


WAITING   FOR   SPUING.  249 

ment  proved  popular,  and  was  repeated  over  and 
over  again,  above  various  neatly  written  signatures. 
There  was  a  strife  as  to  whom  should  display  the 
largest  collection.  Some  of  the  girls  sent  home  for 
autographs  of  distinguished  persons,  which  they 
pasted  in  their  books.  Rose  Red,  however,  outdid 
them  all. 

"Did  I  ever  show  you  mine?"  she  asked  one 
day,  when  most  of  the  girls  were  together  in  the 
school-room. 

"  No,  never !  "  cried  a  number  of  voices.  "  Have 
you  got  one  ?  Oh,  do  let  us  see  it." 

"  Certainly,  I'll  get  it  right  away,  if  you  like," 
said  Rose,  obligingly. 

She  went  to  her  room,  and  returned  with  a 
shabby  old  blank  book  in  her  hand.  Some  of  the 
girls  looked  disappointed. 

"  The  cover  of  mine  isn't  very  nice,"  explained 
Rose.  "  I'm  going  to  have  it  rebound  one  of 
these  days.  You  see  it's  not  a  new  album  at  all, 
u:>r  a  school  album;  but  it's  very  valuable  to  me." 
Here  she  heaved  a  sentimental  sigh.  "All  my 
friends  have  written  in  it,"  she  said. 

The  girls  were  quite  impressed  by  the  mannei 


250  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

in  which  Rose  said  this.  But,  when  they  turned 
over  the  pages  of  the  album,  they  were  even  more 
impressed.  Rose  had  evidently  been  on  intimate 
terms  with  a  circle  of  most  distinguished  .persons. 
Half  the  autographs  in  the  book  were  from  gen- 
tlemen, and  they  were  dated  all  over  the  world. 

"  Just  listen  to  this ! "  cried  Louisa,  and  she 
read,  — 

"  Thou  may'st  forget  me,  but  never,  never  shall  I  forget  thee ! u 

ALPHONSO  OF  CASTILE. 
THE  ESCDRIAL,  April  1st. 

"Who's  he?"  asked  a  circle  of  awe -struck 
girls. 

"Didn't  you  ever  hear  of  him?  Youngest 
brother  of  the  King  of  Spain,"  replied  Rose, 
carelessly. 

"  Oh,  my  I  and  just  hear  this,"  exclaimed  Annie 
Silsbie. 

If  you  ever  deign  to  cast  a  thought  in  my  direction,  Miss  Hose, 
remember  me  always  as 

Thy  devoted  servitor, 

FOTEMKIN    MONTMOBKHOf 

Si  PETERSBURG,  July  10th. 

"And  this,"  shrieked  Alice  White. 

"  They  say  love  is  a  thorn,  I  say  it  is  a  dart, 
And  yet  I  cannot  tear  thee  from  my  heart." 

ANTONIO,  Count  of  Vallambrosa. 


WAITING  FOR  SPKING.  251 

"Do  you  really  and  truly  know  a  Count?'' 
asked  Bella,  backing  away  from  Rose  with  eye? 
as  big  as  saucers. 

"  Know  Antonio  de  Vallambrosa. !  I  should 
think  I  did,"  replied  Rose.  "  Nobody  in  this 
country  knows  him  so  well,  I  fancy." 

"  And  he  wrote  that  for  you  ?  " 

"  How  else  could  it  get  into  my  book,  goosey? r 

This  was  unanswerable  ;  and  Rose  was  installed 
from  that  time  forward  in  the  minds  of  Bella  and 
the  rest  as  a  heroine  of  the  first  water.  Katy, 
however,  knew  better;  and  the  first  time  she 
caught  Rose  alone  she  attacked  her  on  the  subject. 

"Now,  Rosy-Posy,  confess.  Who  wrote  all 
those  absurd  autographs  in  your  book  ?  " 

"  Absurd  autographs !    What  can  you  mean  ?  " 

"  All  those  Counts  and  things.  No,  it's  no  use. 
You  shan't  wriggle  away  till  you  tell  me." 

"  Oh,  Antonio  and  dear  Potemkin,  do  you  mean 
them?" 

"  Yes,  of  course  I  do." 

"  And  you  really  want  to  know  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  And  will  swear  not  to  tell  ?  " 

"Yes." 


252  WHAT  KATY   DTD  AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Well,  then,"  bursting  into  a  laugh,  "  I  wrote 
every  one  of  them  myself." 

"  Did  you  really  ?     When  ?  " 

"  Day  before  yesterday.  I  thought  Lilly  needed 
taking  down,  she  was  so  set  up  with  her  auto- 
graphs of  Wendell  Phillips  and  Mr.  Seward,  so  1 
just  sat  down  and  wrote  a  book  full.  It  only  took 
me  half  an  hour.  I  meant  to  write  some  more : 
in  fact,  I  had  one  all  ready,  — 

1 1  am  dead,  or  pretty  near : 
David's  done  for  me  I  fear/ 

GOLIATH  OF  GATH, 

but  I  was  afraid  even  Bella  wouldn't  swallow  that, 
so  I  tore  out  the  page.  I'm  sorry  I  did  now,  for 
I  really  think  the  geese  would  have  believed  it. 
Written  in  his  last  moments,  you  know,  to  oblige 
an  ancestor  of  my  own,"  added  Rose,  in  a  tone  of 
explanation. 

"  You  monkey  I "  cried  Katy,  highly  diverted. 
But  she  kept  Rose's  counsel,  and  I  daresay  some 
of  the  Hillsover  girls  believe  in  that  wonderful 
album  to  this  day. 

It  was  not  long  after  that  a  sad  piece  of  news 
came  for  Bella.  Her  father  was  dead.  Their 


WAITING    FOB   SPRING.  253 

home  was  in  Iowa,  too  far  to  allow  of  her  return- 
ing for  the  funeral ;  so  the  poor  little  girl  stayed 
at  school,  to  bear  her  trouble  as  best  she  might. 
Katy,  who  was  always  kind  to  children,  and  had 
somewhat  affected  Bella  from  the  first  on  account 
of  her  resemblance  to  Elsie  in  height  and  figure, 
was  especially  tender  to  her  now,  which  Bella 
repaid  with  the  gift  of  her  whole  queer  little  heart. 
Her  affectionate  demonstrations  were  rather  of  the 
monkey  order,  and  not  unfrequently  troublesome ; 
but  Katy  was  never  otherwise  than  patient  and 
gentle  with  her,  though  Rose,  and  even  Clover, 
remonstrated  on  what  they  called  this  "singular 
intimacy." 

"Poor  little  soul!  It's  so  hard  for  her,  and 
she's  only  eleven  years  old,"  she  told  them. 

"  She  has  such  a  funny  way  of  looking  at  you 
eome times,"  said  Rose,  who  was  very  observant. 
"  It  is  just  the  air  of  a  squirrel  who  has  hidden  a 
nut,  and  doesn't  want  you  to  find  out  where,  and 
yet  can  hardly  help  indicating  it  with  his  paw. 
She's  got  something  on  her  mind,  I'm  sure." 

"Half  a  dozen  things,  very  likely,"  added 
Clover:  "she's  such  a  mischief." 


254  WHAT   KATZ   DID  AT   SCHOOL. 

But  none  of  them  guessed  what  this  "some- 
thing' was. 

Early  in  January  Mrs.  Nipson  announced  that 
in  four  weeks  she  proposed  to  give  a  "  Soire*e,"  to 
which  all  young  ladies  whose  records  were  entirely 
free  from  marks  during  the  intervening  period 
would  be  allowed  to  come.  This  announcement 
created  great  excitement,  and  the  school  set  itself 
to  be  good ;  but  marks  were  easy  to  get,  and 
gradually  one  girl  after  another  lost  her  chance, 
till  by  the  appointed  day  only  a  limited  party 
descended  to  join  the  festivities,  and  nearly  half 
the  school  was  left  upstairs  to  sigh  over  past  sins. 
Katy  and  Rose  were  among  the  unlucky  ones. 
Rose  had  incurred  a  mark  by  writing  a  note  in 
study-hour,  and  Katy  by  being  five  minutes  late 
to  dinner.  They  consoled  themselves  by  dressing 
Clover's  hair,  and  making  her  look  as  pretty  as 
possible,  and  then  stationed  themselves  in  the 
upper  hall  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  to  watch  her 
career,  and  get  as  much  fun  out  of  the  occasion 
as  they  could. 

Pretty  soon  they  saw  Clover  below  on  Professor 
Seccomb's  arm.  He  was  a  kindly,  pleasant  man, 


WAITING  FOB   SPRING.  256 

with  a  bald  head,  and  it  was  a  fashion  among  the 
girls  to  admire  him. 

"  Doesn't  she  look  pretty?  "  said  Rose.  "  Just 
notice  Mrs.  Searles,  Katy.  She's  grinning  at 
Clover  like  the  Cheshire  cat.  What  a  wonderful 
cap  that  is  of  hers  I  She  had  it  when  Sylvia  waa 
here  at  school,  eight  years  ago." 

44  Hush  I  she'll  hear  you." 

"  No,  she  won't.  There's  Ellen  beginning  her 
piece.  I  know  she's  frightened  by  the  way  she 
plays.  Hark  !  how  she  hurries  the  time !  " 

"  There,  they  are  going  to  have  refreshments, 
after  all !  "  cried  Esther  Dearborn,  as  trays  of 
lemonade  and  cake-baskets  appeared  below  on 
their  way  to  the  parlor.  "  Isn't  it  a  shame  to 
have  to  stay  up  here  ?  " 

"  Professor  Seccomb  !  Professor  !  "  called  Rose, 
in  a  daring  whisper.  "  Take  pity  upon  as.  We 
are  starving  for  a  piece  of  cake." 

The  Professor  gave  a  jump  ;  then  retreated,  and 
looked  upward.  When  he  saw  the  circle  of 
hungry  faces  peering  down,  he  doubled  up  with 
laughter.  "  Wait  a  moment,"  he  whispered  back, 
and  vanished  into  the  parlor.  Pretty  soon  the 


256  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT  SCHOOL. 

girls  saw  him  making  his  way  through  the  crowd 
with  an  immense  slice  of  pound-cake  in  each 
hand. 

"  Here,  Miss  Rose,"  he  said,  —  "  catch  it."  But 
Rose  ran  half-way  downstairs,  received  the  cake, 
dimpled  her  thanks,  and  retreated  to  the  darkness 
above,  whence  sounds  proceeded  which  sent  the 
amused  Professor  into  the  parlor  convulsed  with 
suppressed  laughter.  Pretty  soon  Clover  stole  up 
the  back  stairs  to  report. 

"Are  you  having  a  nice  time?  Is  the  lemon- 
ade good?  Who  have  you  been  talking  with?" 
inquired  a  chorus  of  voices. 

"  Pretty  nice.  Everybody  is  very  old.  I  haven't 
been  talking  to  anybody  in  particular,  and  the 
lemonade  is  only  cream-of-tartar  water.  I  guess 
it's  jollier  up  here  with  you,"  replied  Clover. 
"  I  must  go  now :  my  turn  to  play  comes  next." 
Down  she  ran. 

"  Except  for  the  glory  of  the  thing,  I  think  we're 
aaving  more  fun  than  she,"  answered  Rose. 

Next  week  came  St.  Valentine's  Day.  Several 
of  the  girls  received  valentines  from  home,  and 
they  wrote  them  to  each  other.  Katy  and  Clovei 


"Rose  ran  half-way  down  stairs,  received  the  cake,  dimpled  her  thanks,  and 
retreated."  —  PACK  256. 


WAITING   FOR   SPRING.  2o7 

both  had  one  from  Phil,  exactly  alike,  with  the 
same  purple  bird  in  the  middle  of  the  page,  and 
44 1  love  you  "  printed  underneath ;  and  they  joined 
in  fabricating  a  gorgeous  one  for  Rose,  which  was 
supposed  to  come  from  Potemkin  de  Montmorency, 
the  hero  of  the  album.  But  the  most  surprising 
valentine  was  received  by  Miss  Jane.  It  came 
with  the  others,  while  all  the  household  were  at 
dinner.  The  girls  saw  her  redden  and  look  angry, 
but  she  put  the  letter  in  her  pocket,  and  said 
nothing. 

In  the  afternoon,  it  came  out  through  Bella 
that  "  Miss  Jane's  letter  was  in  poetry,  and  that 
she  was  just  as  mad  as  fire  about  it."  Just 
before  tea,  Louisa  came  running  down  the  Row, 
to  No.  5,  where  Katy  was  sitting  with  Rose. 

"  Girls,  what  do  you  think  ?  That  letter  which 
Miss  Jane  got  this  morning  was  a  valentine,  the 
most  dreadful  thing,  but  so  funny  I"  she  stojped 
to  laugh. 

44  How  do  you  know  ?  "  cried  the  other  two. 

"  Miss  Marsh  told  Alice  Gibbons.  She's  a  sor-l 
of  cousin,  you  know  ;  and  Miss  Marsh  often  tells 
he*  things.  She  says  Miss  Jane  and  Mrs.  NipscD 


258  WHAT    KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

ave  furious,  and  are  determined  to  find  out  who 
sent  it.  It  was  from  Mr.  Hardback,  Miss  Jane's 
missionary,  —  or  no,  not  from  Mr.  Hardback,  but 
from  a  cannibal  who  had  just  eaten  Mr.  Hardback 
up ;  and  he  sent  Miss  Jane  a  lock  of  his  hair,  and 
the  recipe  the  tribe  cooked  him  by.  They  found 
him  'very  nice,'  he  said,  and  '  He  turned  out  quite 
tender.'  That  was  one  of  the  lines  in  the  poem. 
Did  you  ever  hear  any  thing  like  it  ?  Who  do 
you  suppose  could  have  sent  it?" 

"  Who  could  it  have  been  ?  "  cried  the  others. 
Katy  had  one  moment's  awful  misgiving ;  but  a 
glance  at  Rose's  face,  calm  and  innocent  as  a 
baby's,  reassured  her.  It  was  impossible  that  she 
could  have  done  this  mischievous  thing.  Katy, 
you  see,  was  not  privy  to  that  entry  in  Rose's 
journal,  "  Pay  Miss  Jane  off,"  nor  aware  that  Rose 
had  just  written  underneath,  "Did  it.  Feb.  14, 
1869." 

Nobody  ever  found  out  the  author  of  this  auda- 
cious valentine.  Rose  kept  her  own  counsel,  and 
Miss  Jane  probably  concluded  that  "  the  better 
part  of  valor  was  discretion,"  for  the  threatened 
inquiries  were  never  made. 


WAITING   FOR   SPRING.  25U 

And  now  it  lacked  but  six  weeks  to  the  end 
of  the  term.  The  girls  counted  the  days,  and 
practised  various  devices  to  make  them  pass  more 
quickly.  Esther  Dearborn,  who  had  a  turn  for 
arithmetic,  set  herself  to  a  careful  calculation  of 
how  many  hours,  minutes,  and  seconds  must  pass 
before  the  happy  time  should  come.  Annie  Silsbie 
strung  forty-two  tiny  squares  of  card-board  on  a 
thread,  and  each  night  slipped  one  off  and  burned 
it  up  in  the  candle.  Others  made  diagrams  of  the 
time,  with  a  division  for  each  day,  and  every  night 
blotted  one  out  with  a  sense  of  triumph.  None  of 
these  devices  made  the  time  hasten.  It  never 
moved  more  slowly  than  now,  when  life  seemed 
to  consist  of  a  universal  waiting. 

But  though  Katy's  heart  bounded  at  the  thought 
of  home  till  she  could  hardly  bear  the  gladness,  she 
owned  to  Clover,  —  "Do  you  know,  much  as  I 
long  to  get  away,  I  am  half  sorry  to  go  !  It  is 
parting  with  something  which  we  shall  never  have 
any  more.  Home  is  lovely,  and  I  would  rather  be 
there  than  anywhere  else  ;  but,  if  you  and  I  live  to 
be  a  hundred,  we  shall  never  be  girls  at  boarding- 
school  again." 


260  WHAT  KATY  DID  AT  SCHOOL* 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

PARADISE      REGAINED. 

|NLY  seven  days  more  to  cross  off,"  said 
Clover,  drawing  her  pencil  through  one 
of  the  squares  on  the  diagram  pinned 
beside  her  looking-glass,  "  seven  more,  and  then  — 
oh,  joy !  —  papa  will  be  here,  and  we  shall  start  for 
home." 

She  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  Katy, 

holding  a  letter  and  looking  pale  and  aggrieved. 

"Oh,  Clover,"  she  cried,  "just  listen  to  this  I 

Papa  can't  come  for  us.     Isn't  it  too  bad? "     And 

she  read :  — 

"SUBNET,  March  20. 

"MY  DEAR  GIRLS,  —  I  find  that  it  will  not  be 
possible  for  me  to  come  for  you  next  week,  as  1 
intended.  Several  people  are  severely  ill,  and  old 
Mrs.  Barlow  struck  down  suddenly  with  paralysis, 


PAKADISE   KEGAINED.  261 

*o  I  cannot  leave.  I  am  sorry,  and  so  will  you  be ; 
out  there  is  no  help  for  it.  Fortunately,  Mrs.  Hall 
has  just  heard  that  some  friends  of  hers  are  coming 
westward  with  their  family,  and  she  has  written  to 
ask  them  to  take  charge  of  you.  The  drawback  to 
this  plan  is,  that  you  will  have  to  travel  alone  as 
far  as  Albany,  where  Mr.  Peters  (Mrs.  Hall's  friend) 
will  meet  you.  I  have  written  to  ask  Mr.  Page  to 
put  you  on  the  train,  and  under  the  care  of  the  con 
ductor,  on  Tuesday  morning.  I  hope  you  will  get 
through  without  embarrassment.  Mr.  Peters  will 
be  at  the  station  in  Albany  to  receive  you :  or,  if 
any  thing  should  hinder  him,  you  are  to  drive  at 
once  to  the  Delavan  House,  where  they  are  stay- 
ing. I  enclose  a  check  for  your  journey.  If  Dorry 
were  five  years  older,  I  should  send  him  after  you. 

"  The  children  are  most  impatient  to  have  you 
back.  Miss  Finch  has  been  suddenly  called  away 
by  the  illness  of  her  sister-in-law,  so  Elsie  is  keep- 
ing house  till  your  return. 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear  daughters,  and  send 
you  safe. 

u  Yours  affectionate!} , 

"P.  GARB," 


262  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"  Oh,  dear !  "  said  Clover,  with  her  lip  trembling, 
"  now  papa  won't  see  Rosy." 

"  No,"  said  Katy,  "  and  Rosy  and  Louisa,  and  the 
rest,  won't  see  him.  That  is  the  worst  of  all.  1 
wanted  them  to  so  much.  And  just  think  how  dis- 
mal it  will  be  to  travel  with  people  we  don't  know. 
It's  too,  too  bad,  I  declare." 

"  I  do  think  old  Mrs.  Barlow  might  have  put  off 
being  ill  just  one  week  longer,"  grumbled  Clover. 
"  It  takes  away  half  the  pleasure  of  going  home." 

The  girls  might  be  excused  for  being  cross,  for 
this  was  a  great  disappointment.  There  was  no 
help  for  it,  however,  as  papa  said.  They  could 
only  sigh  and  submit.  But  the  journey,  to  which 
they  had  looked  forward  so  much,  was  no  longer 
thought  of  as  a  pleasure,  only  a  disagreeable  neces- 
sity, something  which  must  be  endured  in  order 
that  they  might  reach  home. 

Five,  four,  three  days,  —  the  last  little  square  was 
crossed  off,  the  last  dinner  was  eaten,  the  last  break- 
fast. There  was  much  mourning  over  Katy  and 
Clover  among  the  girls  who  were  to  return  foi 
another  year.  Louisa  and  Ellen  Gray  were  iiicon 
solable ;  and  Bella,  with  a  very  small  pocket  hand 


PARADISE   REGAINED.  263 

kerchief  held  tightly  in  her  hand,  clung  to  Katy 
every  moment,  crying,  and  declaring  that  she  would 
not  let  her  go.  The  last  evening  she  followed  her 
into  No.  2  (where  she  was  dreadfully  in  the  way  of 
the  packing),  and  after  various  odd  contortions  and 
mysterious,  half-spoken  sentences,  said :  — 

"  Sajr,  won't  you  tell  if  I  tell  you  something?  " 

u  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Katy,  absently,  as  she  folded 
and  smoothed  her  best  gown. 

"  Something,"  repeated  Bella,  wagging  her  head 
mysteriously,  and  looking  more  like  a  thievish  squir- 
rel than  ever. 

"  Well,  what  is  it  ?    Tell  me." 

To  Katy's  surprise,  Bella  burst  into  a  violent  fit 
of  crying. 

"  I'm  real  sorry  I  did  it,"  she  sobbed,  —  "  real 
sorry !  And  now  you'll  never  love  me  any  more." 

"  Yes,  I  will.  What  is  it  ?  Do  stop  crying,  Bella 
dear,  and  tell  me,"  said  Katy,  alarmed  at  the  vio- 
lence of  the  sobs. 

"  It  was  for  fun,  really  and  truly  it  was.  But 
I  wanted  some  cake  too,"  —  protested  Bella, 
sniffing  very  hard. 

"  What ! "      • 


264  WHAT    KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

"And  I  didn't  think  anybody  would  know. 
Berry  S carles  doesn't  care  a  bit  for  us  little  girls, 
only  for  big  ones.  And  I  knew  if  I  said  '  Bella,' 
he'd  never  give  me  the  cake.  So  I  said  'Miss 
Carr'  instead." 

"  Bella,  did  you  write  that  note? "  inquired  Katy, 
almost  too  much  surprised  to  speak. 

"  Yes.  And  I  tied  a  string  to  your  blind,  because 
I  knew  I  could  go  in  and  draw  it  up  when  you 
were  practising.  But  I  didn't  mean  to  do  any 
harm ;  and  when  Mrs.  Florence  was  so  mad,  and 
changed  your  room,  I  was  real  sorry,"  moaned 
Bella,  digging  her  knuckles  into  her  eyes. 

"  Won't  you  ever  love  me  any  more  ?  "  she  de- 
manded. Katy  lifted  her  into  her  lap,  and  talked 
so  tenderly  and  seriously  that  her  contrition,  which 
was  only  half  genuine,  became  real ;  and  she  cried 
in  good  earnest  when  Katy  kissed  her  in  token  of 
forgiveness. 

"  Of  course  you'll  go  at  once  to  Mrs.  Nipson," 
said  Clover  and  Rose,  when  Katy  imparted  this 
surprising  discovery. 

"  No,  I  think  not.  Why  should  I  ?  It  would 
only  get  poor  little  Bella  into  a  dreadful  ecraue, 


PARADISE   REGAINED.  266 

and  she's  coming  back  again,  you  know.  Mrs.  Nip- 
bon  does  not  believe  that  story  now,  —  nobody  does. 
We  have  'lived  it  down,'  just  as  I  hoped  we 
should.  That  is  much  better  than  having  it  con- 
tradicted." 

"I  don't  think  so;  and  I  should  enjoy  seeing 
that  little  wretch  of  a  Bella  well  whipped,"  per- 
sisted Rose.  But  Katy  was  not  to  be  shaken. 

"  To  please  me,  promise  that  not  a  word  shall  be 
said  about  it,"  she  urged ;  and,  to  please  her,  the 
girls  consented. 

I  think  Katy  was  right  in  saying  that  Mrs.  Nip- 
son  no  longer  believed  her  guilty  in  the  affair  of 
the  note.  She  had  been  very  friendly  to  both  the 
sisters  of  late ;  and  when  Clover  carried  in  her 
album  and. asked  for  an  autograph,  she  waxed  quite 
sentimental  and  wrote,  "I  would  not  exchange 
the  modest  Clover  for  the  most  brilliant  flower  in 
our  beautiful  parterre,  so  bring  it  back,  I  pray  thee, 
to  your  affectionate  teacher,  Marianne  Nipson ; " 
which  effusion  quite  overwhelmed  "the  modest 
Clover, '  and  called  out  the  remark  from  Rose,  — 
44  Don  t  she  wish  she  may  get  you  I  "  Miss  Jane 

said  twice,   "I   shall  miss  you,  Katy,"  a  speech 
12 


266  WHAT    KATY   DID    AT   SCHOOL. 

which,  to  quote  Rose  again,  made  Katy  look  as 
"  surprised  as  Balaam."  Rose  herself  was  iiot 
coming  back  to  school.  She  and  the  girls  were 
half  broken-hearted  at  parting.  They  lavished 
tears,  kisses,  promises  of  letters,  and  vows  of  eter- 
nal friendship.  Neither  of  them,  it  was  agreed, 
was  ever  to  love  anybody  else  so  well.  The  final 
moment  would  have  been  almost  too  tragical,  had 
it  not  been  for  a  last  bit  of  mischief  on  the  part  of 
Rose.  It  was  after  the  stage  was  actually  at  the 
door,  and  she  had  her  foot  upon  the  step,  that, 
struck  by  a  happy  thought,  she  rushed  upstairs 
again,  collected  the  girls,  and,  each  taking  a  win- 
dow, they  tore  down  the  cotton,  flung  open  sashes, 
and  startled  Mrs.  Nipson,  who  stood  below,  by  the 
simultaneous  waving  therefrom  of  many  white 
flags.  Katy,  who  was  already  in  the  stage,  had 
the  full  benefit  of  this  performance.  Always  after 
that,  when  she  thought  of  the  Nunnery,  her  memory 
recalled  this  scene, — Mrs.  Nipson  in  the  door- way, 
Bella  blubbering  behind,  and  overhead  the  win- 
dows crowded  with  saucy  girls,  laughing  and  tri- 
umphantly flapping  the  long  cotton  strips  which 
had  for  so  many  months  obscured  the  daylight  fo* 
them  all. 


PARADISE   REGAINED.  267 

At  Springfield  next  morning  she  and  Clover 
«aid  good-by  to  Mr.  Page  and  Lilly.  The  ride  to 
Albany  was  easy  and  safe.  With  every  mile  their 
spirits  rose.  At  last  they  were  actually  on  the 
way  home. 

At  Albany  they  looked  anxiously  about  the 
crowded  depot  for  "  Mr.  Peters."  Nobody  ap- 
peared at  first,  and  they  had  time  to  grow  ner- 
vous before  they  saw  a  gentle,  careworn  little  man 
coming  toward  them  in  company  with  the  con- 
ductor. 

"  I  believe  you  are  the  young  ladies  I  have  come 
to  meet,"  he  said.  "  You  must  excuse  my  being 
late,  I  was  detained  by  business.  There  is  a  great 
deal  to  do  to  move  a  family  out  West,"  he  wiped 
his  forehead  in  a  dispirited  way.  Then  he  put 
the  girls  into  a  carriage,  and  gave  the  driver  a 
direction. 

"We'd  better  leave  your  baggage  at  the  office 
as  we  pass,"  he  said,  "  because  we  have  to  get  off 
so  early  in  the  morning." 

"How  early?" 

"  The  boat  goes  at  six,  but  we  ought  to  be  OD 
board  by  half-past  five,  so  as  to  be  well  settled 
before  she  starts." 


268  WHAT    KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

44  The  boat  ?  "  said  Katy,  opening  her  eyes. 

"Yes.  Erie  Canal,  you  know.  Our  furniture 
goes  that  way,  so  we  judged  it  best  to  do  the 
same,  and  keep  an  eye  on  it  ourselves.  Never  be 
separated  from  your  property,  if  you  can  help  it, 
that's  my  maxim.  It's  the  Prairie  Belle,  —  one  of 
the  finest  boats  on  the  Canal." 

44  When  do  we  get  to  Buffalo  ? "  asked  Katy, 
with  an  uneasy  recollection  of  having  heard  that 
canal  boats  travel  slowly. 

"Buffalo?  Let  me  see.  This  is  Tuesday, — 
Wednesday,  Thursday,  —  well,  if  we're  lucky  we 
ought  to  be  there  Friday  evening ;  so,  if  we're  not 
too  late  to  catch  the  night  boat  on  the  lake,  you'll 
reach  home  Saturday  afternoon.  Yes :  I  think  we 
may  pretty  safely  say  Saturday  afternoon." 

Four  days  I  The  girls  looked  at  each  other 
with  dismay  too  deep  for  words.  Elsie  was 
expecting  them  by  Thursday  at  latest.  What 
should  they  do? 

44  Telegraph,"  was  the  only  answer  that  suggested 
\tself.  So  Katy  scribbled  a  despatch,  44  Coming  by 
canal.  Don't  expect  us  till  Saturday,"  which  she 
begged  Mr.  Peters  to  send  ;  and  she  and  Clover 


.PAKADISE  REGAINED.  269 

agreed  in  whispers  that  it  was  dreadful,  but  they 
must  bear  it  as  patiently  as  they  could. 

Oh,  the  patience  which  is  needed  on  a  canal  I 
The  motion  which  is  not  so  much  motion  as  stand- 
ing still!  The  erazy  impulse  to  jump  out  and 
help  the  crawling  boat  along  by  pushing  it  from 
behind  I  How  one  grows  to  hate  the  slow,  monot- 
onous glide,  the  dull  banks,  and  to  envy  every 
swift-moving  thing  in  sight,  each  man  on  horse- 
back, each  bird  flying  through  the  air. 

Mrs.  Peters  was  a  thin,  anxious  woman,  who 
spent  her  life  anticipating  disasters  of  all  sorts. 
She  had  her  children  with  her,  three  little  boys,  and 
a  teething  baby ;  and  such  a  load  of  bundles,  and 
baskets,  and  brown  paper  parcels,  that  Katy  and 
Clover  privately  wondered  how  she  could  possibly 
have  got  through  the  journey  without  their  help. 
Willy,  the  eldest  boy,  was  always  begging  leave  to 
go  ashore  and  ride  the  towing  horses  ;  Sammy,  the 
second,  could  only  be  kept  quiet  by  means  of 
'.rooked  pins  and  fish-lines  of  blue  yarn;  while 
Paul,  the  youngest,  was  possessed  with  a  curiosity 
as  to  the  under  side  of  the  boat,  which  resulted  in 
nis  dropping  his  new  hat  overboard  five  timea  in 


270  WHAT   KATY  DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

three  days,  Mr.  Peters  and  the  cabin-boy  rowing 
back  in  a  small  boat  each  time  to  recover  it.  Mrs. 
Peters  sat  on  deck  with  her  baby  in  her  lap,  and 
was  in  a  perpetual  agony  lest  the  locks  should 
work  wrongly,  or  the  boys  be  drowned,  or  some 
one  fail  to  notice  the  warning  cry,  "  Bridge  I  "  and 
have  their  heads  carried  off  from  their  shoulders. 
Nobody  did ;  but  the  poor  lady  suffered  the  anguish 
of  ten  accidents  in  dreading  the  one  which  never 
took  place.  The  berths  at  night  were  small  and 
cramped,  restless  children  woke  and  cried,  the 
cabins  were  close,  the  decks  cold  and  windy. 
There  was  nothing  to  see,  and  nothing  to  do. 
Katy  and  Clover  agreed  that  they  never  wanted 
to  see  a  canal  boat  again. 

They  were  very  helpful  to  Mrs.  Peters,  amused 
the  boys,  and  kept  them  out  of  mischief;  and  she 
told  her  husband  that  she  really  thought  she 
shouldn't  have  lived  through  the  journey  if  it 
hadn't  been  for  the  Miss  Carrs,  they  were  such 
kind  girls,  and  so  fond  of  children.  But  the  three 
days  were  terribly  long.  At  last  they  ended. 
Buffalo  was  reached  in  time  for  the  lake  boat ;  and 
once  established  on  board,  feeling  the  rapid  motion, 


PARADISE   KEGAINED.  271 

and  knowing  that  each  stroke  of  the  paddles  look 
them  nearer  home,  the  girls  were  rewarded  foi 
thoir  long  trial  of  patience. 

At  four  o'clock  the  next  afternoon  Burnet  was 
in  sight.  Long  before  they  touched  the  wharf 
Clover  discovered  old  Whitey  and  the  carryall,  and 
Alexander,  waiting  for  them  among  the  crowd  of 
carriages.  Standing  on  the  edge  of  the  dock 
appeared  a  well-known  figure. 

"  Papa !  papa  I  "  she  shrieked.  It  seemed  as  if 
the  girls  could  not  wait  for  the  boat  to  stop,  and 
the  plank  to  be  lowered.  How  delightful  it  was 
to  feel  papa  again  I  Such  a  sense  of  home  and 
comfort  and  shelter  as  came  with  his  touch  I 

"I'll  never  go  away  from  you  again,  never, 
never!"  repeated  Clover,  keeping  tight  hold  of 
his  hand  as  they  drove  up  the  hill.  Dr.  Carr,  as 
he  gazed  at  his  girls,  was  equally  happy,  —  the\ 
were  so  bright,  so  affectionate  and  loving.  No,  he 
eould  never  spare  them  again,  for  boarding-school 
or  any  thing  else,  he  thought. 

44  You  must  be  very  tired,"  he  said. 

44  Not  a  bit.  I'm  hardly  ever  tired  now,"  replied 
tfaty. 


272  WHAT  KATY   DID    AT  SCHOOL. 

44  Oh,  dear !  I  forgot  to  thank  Mr.  Peters  for 
taking  care  of  us,"  said  Clover. 

"  Never  mind.  I  did  it  for  you,"  answered  hei 
father. 

"  Oh,  that  baby !  "  she  continued :  "  how  glad  I 
am  that  it  has  gone  to  Toledo,  and  I  needn't  hear 
it  cry  any  more !  Katy !  Katy !  there's  home  I 
We  are  at  the  gate ! " 

The  girls  looked  eagerly  out,  but  no  children 
were  visible.  They  hurried  up  the  gravel  path, 
under  the  locust  boughs  just  beginning  to  bud. 
There,  over  the  front  door,  was  an  arch  of  ever- 
greens, with  "Katy"  and  "Clover"  upon  it  in 
scarlet  letters ;  and  as  they  reached  the  porch,  the 
door  flew  open,  and  out  poured  the  children  in  a 
tumultuous  little  crowd.  They  had  been  on  the 
roof,  looking  through  a  spy-glass  after  the  boat. 

"We  never  knew  you  had  come  till  we  heard 
the  gate,"  explained  John  and  Dorry ;  while  Elsie 
hugged  Clover,  and  Phil,  locking  his  arms  round 
Katy's  neck,  took  his  feet  off  the  floor,  and  swung 
them  in  an  ecstasy  of  affection,  until  she  begged 
for  mercy. 

"  How  you  are  grown  I     Dorry,  you're  as  tall  aa 


PARADISE   REGAINED.  273 

I  am!  Elsie,  darling,  how  well  you  look  I  Oh, 
isn't  it  delicious,  delicious,  delicious,  to  be  at  homo 
again  I "  There  was  such  a  hubbub  of  endear- 
ments and  explanations  that  Dr.  Carr  could  hardly 
make  himself  heard. 

"  Clover,  your  waist  has  grown  as  small  as  a 
pin.  You  look  just  like  the  beautiful  princess  in 
Elsie's  story,"  said  Johnnie. 

"  Take  the  girls  into  the  parlor,"  repeated  Di. 
Carr :  "it  is  cold  out  here,  with  the  door 
open." 

"  Take  'em  upstairs  I  You  don't  know  what  is 
upstairs ! "  shouted  Phil,  whereupon  Elsie  frowned 
and  shook  her  head  at  him. 

i  The  parlor  was  gay  with  daffodils  and  hyacinths, 
and  vases  of  blue  violets,  which  smelt  delightfully 
Cecy  had  helped  to  arrange  them,  Elsie  said.  And 
just  at  that  moment  Cecy  herself  came  in.  Her 
hair  was  arranged  in  a  sort  of  pin-cushion  of  puffs, 
with  a  row  of  curls  on  top,  where  no  curls  used  to 
grow,  and  her  appearance  generally  was  very  fine 
and  fashionable ;  but  she  was  the  same  affectionate 
Cecy  as  ever,  and  hugged  the  girls,  and  danced 

round  them  as  she  used  to  do  at  twelve.     She  had 
12* 


274  WHAT   KATY    DID   AT    SCHOOL,. 

waited  until  they  had  had  time  to  kiss  once  all 
round,  she  said,  and  then  she  really  couldn't  wait 
any  longer. 

"Now  come  upstairs,"  suggested  Elsie,  when 
Clover  had  warmed  her  feet,  and  the  flowers  had 
been  admired,  and  everybody  had  said  ten  times 
over  how  nice  it  was  to  have  the  girls  back,  and 
the  girls  had  replied  that  it  was  just  as  nice  to 
come  back. 

So  they  all  went  upstairs,  Elsie  leading  the 
way. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  cried  Katy :  "  that's 
the  Blue  Room."  But  Elsie  did  not  pause. 

"  You  see,"  she  explained,  with  the  door-knob 
in  her  hand,  "papa  and  I  thought  you  ought  to 
have  a  bigger  room  now,  because  you  are  grown- 
up young  ladies  I  So  we  have  fixed  this  for  you, 
and  your  old  one  is  going  to  be  the  spare  room 
instead."  Then  she  threw  the  door  open,  and  led 
the  girls  in. 

"See,  Katy,"  she  said,  "this  is  your  bureau, 
and  this  is  Clover's.  And  look  what  nice  drawers 
papa  has  had  put  in  the  closet,  —  two  for  you,  and 
two  for  her.  Aren't  they  convenient  ?  Don  t  you 


PARADISE  REGAINED.  275 

like  it  ?  And  isn't  it  a  great  deal  pleasanter  thau 
the  old  room  ?  " 

"  Oh,  a  great  deal,"  cried  the  girls.  "  It  is  delight- 
ful, every  thing  about  it."  All  Katy's  old  treasures 
had  been  transferred  from  her  old  quarters  to  this. 
There  was  her  cushioned  chair,  her  table,  her  book- 
shelf, the  pictures  from  the  walls.  There  were 
some  new  things  too, —  a  blue  carpet,  blue  paper 
on  the  walls,  window  curtains  of  fresh  chintz  ;  and 
Elsie  had  made  a  tasteful  pin-cushion  for  each 
bureau,  and  Johnnie  crocheted  mats  for  the  wash- 
stand.  Altogether,  it  was  as  pretty  a  bower  as 
two  sisters  just  grown  into  young  ladies  could 
desire. 

"  What  are  those  lovely  things  hanging  on  either 
side  of  the  bed?  "  asked  Clover. 

They  were  two  illuminated  texts,  sent  as  a 
u  welcome  home,"  by  Cousin  Helen.  One  was 
a  morning  text,  and  the  other  an  evening  text, 
Elsie  explained.  The  evening  text,  which  bore 
tho  words,  "  I  will  lay  me  down  to  sleep,  and  take 
my  rest,  for  it  is  thou.  Lord,  only  who  makest  me 
dwell  in  safety,"  was  painted  in -soft  purples  and 
grays,  and  among  the  poppies  and  silver  lilies 


276  WHAT   KATY   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

which  wreathed  it  appeared  a  cunning  little  downy 
bird,  fast  asleep,  with  his  head  under  his  wing. 
The  morning  text,  "When  I  awake,  I  am  still 
with  Thee,"  was  in  bright  colors,  scarlet  and  blue 
and  gold,  and  had  a  frame  of  rose  garlands  and 
wide-awake-looking  butterflies  and  Lumming-birds. 
The  girls  thought  they  had  never  seen  any  thing 
BO  pretty. 

Such  a  gay  supper  as  they  had  that  night  I  Katy 
would  not  take  her  old  place  at  the  tea-tray.  She 
wanted  to  know  how  Elsie  looked  as  housekeeper, 
she  said.  So  she  sat  on  one  side  of  papa,  and 
Clover  on  the  other,  and  Elsie  poured  the  tea,  with 
a  mixture  of  delight  and  dignity  which  was  worth 
seeing. 

"  I'll  begin  to-morrow,"  said  Katy. 

And  with  that  morrow,  when  she  came  out  of 
her  pretty  room  and  took  her  place  once  more  as 
manager  of  the  household,  her  grown-up  life  may 
be  said  to  have  begun.  So  it  is  time  that  I  should 
cease  to  write  about  her.  Grown-up  lives  may  be 
very  interesting,  but  they  have  no  rightful  place 
in  a  child's  book.  If  little  girls  will  forget  to  be 
little,  and  take  it  upon  them  to  become  young 


PARADISE   REGAINED.  277 

ladies,  they  must  bear  the  consequences,  one  of 
which  is,  that  we  can  follow  their  fortunes  no 
longer. 

I  wrote  these  last  words  sitting  in  the  same 
green  niaadow  where  the  first  words  of  "What 
Katy  Did"  were  written.  A  year  had  passed,  but 
a  cardinal-flower  which  seemed  the  same  stood 
looking  at  itself  in  the  brook,  and  from  the  bulrush- 
bed  sounded  tiny  voices.  My  little  goggle-eyed 
friends  were  discussing  Katy  and  her  conduct,  as 
they  did  then,  but  with  less  spirit ;  for  one  voice 
came  seldom  and  faintly,  while  the  other,  bold  and 
defiant  as  ever,  repeated  over  and  over  again, 
"  Katy  didn't !  Katy  didn't  I  She  didn't,  didn't, 
didn't." 

44  Katy  did !  "  sounded  faintly  from  the  farther 
rush. 

"  She  didn't,  she  didn't,"  chirped  the  undaunted 
partisan.  Silence  followed.  His  opponent  was 
either  convinced  or  tired  of  the  discussion. 

"  Katy  didn't."  The  words  repeated  themselves 
in  my  mind  as  I  walked  homeward.  How  much 
room  for  "  Didn'ts  "  there  is  in  the  world,  I  thought 


278  WHAT   KATiT   DID   AT   SCHOOL. 

What  an  important  part  they  play  !  And  how  glad 
I  ara  that,  with  all  her  own  and  other  people's 
doings,  so  many  of  these  very  "  Didn'ts "  were 
included  among  the  things  which  my  Katy  did  at 
School! 


University  Press  :   John  Wilson  &  Sou,  Cambridge. 


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ENTERING    PARADISE. —  PACK  23. 

So  in  they  marched,  Katy  and  Cecy  heading  the  procession,  and  Dorry,  with  his  great 
trailing  bunch  of  boughs,  bringing  up  the  rear. 

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These  girls  were  Clover  and  Elsie  Carr.  —  PAGE  7. 

WHAT    KATY   DID    NEXT. 

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